Encounters
by PjoHoOKCTHG
Summary: The encounter was an accident. She'd looked up into his eyes and thought to herself that such beautiful ones shouldn't have been able to glare so intensely, though she'd never admit it. He was beguiling her. And then hot coffee hit her chest and an argument errupted right in the middle of Starbucks. She thought she'd never see him again, but she could not have been more wrong..
1. Chapter 1

**Encounters**

**AN: Eh, kinda wanted to try this story. I don't know if I'm going to continue though, so let me know what you think and depending on what you guys say, I'll decide if I want to continue or not. **

**Annabeth**

It started with a dare. Then again, most things in my life started that way. Improvised, gone off a limb, and completely spontanious. That's how I ended up in cheer leading even though I was one of the most ill-tempered people to ever walk the planet. That's how I ended up trying out every single club and extracurricular at Goode. That's how I ended up jumping off a tree and breaking my leg in the second semester of freshman year. And that's how on this particular day, I found myself in a situation I'd rather not be in.

In my defense, it was Piper's fault. Well, actually, looking back at it, I realized it was my fault for inviting her and Thalia over in the first place. She was a force to be reckoned with. She might've had a nice, soft exterior, but that didn't mean she should be underestimated, and trust me, I knew better than anyone because I was her best friend. I should've known it was going to be a trap. She was wearing a sly smile and her cheer leading uniform, a combination that meant death to anyone who knew Piper closely. The way she placed her words made it impossible to resist the dare when the air caught it. She'd walked up to me slowly, both hands behind her back and stared at me with multi-hued eyes full of mischeif. I remember looking away from my computer screen and glacing at her with a questioning expression.

"Yes?" It was the first word out of my mouth at that moment, and looking back at the event, I regret ever opening my mouth in the first place. Her smile widened to show her pearly white teeth and she clapped her hands together.

"Annie-" She started in a melodic tone of voice.

"Don't call me that." I cut her off quickly. If there was one thing I couldn't tolerate, it was rootbeer and people calling me Annie. She ignored my comment and continued.

"Could you do me a favor?" At that moment, I was sitting at my computer desk with a headset on playing _Town of Salem_. If she was asking me to move, there was a very small chance I'd actually do it.

"Depends on what it is." I answered without taking my eyes away from the game.

"Thalia and I are craving some coffee. You think you could swing by Starbucks and grab us some? You know what we want." I typed something into the chat box of my game as I half listened to what she was saying. I honestly couldn't understand america's obsession with Starbucks. Ooh, overpriced coffee that gives you diabetes, yum. If I wanted overpriced coffee that gave me diabetes, I'd go buy coffee at Target and then add a whole bottle of high fructose corn syrup, but that's besides the point.

"If you want coffee, there's a coffee maker downstairs." I muttered as I chose who I wanted to kill in the game.

"But we want Starbucks." She replied sweetly. I looked up at her and she gave me a smile so sweet your teeth would rot. I however, was not fazed. I grew up with the girl, I was used to all her tactics by now.

"And I have to get it because?"

"Because last time I was over, you wanted Taco Bell and I went and got it for you." I paused. That was a fact.

"And Thalia can't do it because?"

"She got you Chick-fil-a." I huffed. That was also a fact.

"Piper, I'm in the middle of a game though... I'm winning, if I left I'd have to start all over." She raised one perfectly sculpted eyebrow at me and crossed her arms over chest. She and I both knew that I was fishing for an excuse not to leave the house. If anybody came up to me and asked me to my face if I was a homebody, I'd say yes in a heart beat.

"Ugh fine. Give me your keys."

"Well first you should change, don't wanna go into public in your uniform right?" And there it was. It was inconspicous, so kudos to her, but I should've known there was an ulterior motive to her wanting me to change. We'd just come back from our first cheer competition of the school year, so I looked like a baby whore stuffed into a blue uniform.

That should've been the first warning flag. Why would Piper _not_ want me to go out into public in my cheer uniform? I was all lose shirts and worn out jeans ever since I could walk, and she'd been begging me to dress up equally as long, so the one time that I was actually in a tight fighting outfit that showed more skin than I could handle, she wanted me to change? But, even though I had one of the highest GPA's at Goode, in that moment, I was utterly and completely idiotic. So I shrugged my headset off and stood, my bones popping underneath me as I stretched my tired muscles.

"Yeah, I guess, but all my clothes are dirty." Both our gazes shifted to the laundry basket piled high with clothes. I could almost feel Piper's look of disgust and disappointment. I plucked the bow that was in my hair and released my hair from it's ponytail.

"Well... I brought some clothes." She offered quietly while looking at her school colored nails nonchalantly. That's when her intentions became abundantly clear. She wanted me to go out in public looking like I didn't spend my free time snacking on hot cheetos and prepping my affirmative and negative cases for the next debate tournament I was headed to. Basically, she wanted to play dress up with me.

"Ha, you're funny. Maybe I can grab a pair of Malcolm's sweats and just throw a jacket over the uniform top." My very annoying, very arrogant older brother had tried out every sport known to man at Goode. Because of that, he had too many sweats to count, and too many girls chasing after him. Piper pulled the bow out of her hair as well and fingered the sides. Then she shrugged and pursed her lips as if this little... whatever it was, was over. But I knew Piper. She never backed down from a fight. This was _far_ from over.

"Alright, whatever makes you comfortable. I just thought... Nevermind." I raised an eyebrow at her and and looked back at my computer in regret. I shouldn't have gotten up. I didn't get alone time with my computer anymore. My computer and I were in a relationship, and you can't have a relationship without spending time with your significant other. Nevertheless, she'd peaked my attention.

"What?"

"Oh nothing. I just... Didn't think you were that much of a coward." She replied as she flipped her chestnut hair over a tanned shoulder. I resisted the urge to let my jaw drop to the floor and instead pressed my lips together and hummed.

"How am I being a coward?"

"Well, are you that scared of my clothes that you don't even want to leave the house? I mean... I thought Annabeth Chase was better than that." And there goes warning flag number two. How did I not guess that she was leading me into a trap?

"I am better than that." I replied, disregarding every atom in my body that was screaming at me to walk away and get back to the game. But it was too late. Piper looked up at me with a vixen smile and moved her arm swiftly outside as if she was leading the way.

"Then prove it. I dare you to wear my clothes, and if you can't handle it, then say so, but just know you'll be labled a coward for the rest of you life Annie." Now listen here because it's time for a backstory.

When I was nine and in the third grade, there was this kid who was so obnoxious, even the teachers gossiped about him. His name was Billy. Now Billy loved picking on me because I was younger than him by a month, and for some reason, he thought that was just the biggest deal. One day, I was sitting on a swing minding my own buisness when Billy came up to me and stuck his tounge out at me. As a third grader, I was highly offended. I was starting to get fed up with Billy. I mean the kid was relentless. Finally, I asked him what it would take for him to leave me alone. Back then, I didn't know it, but Billy had the biggest crush on me, so when he said that a kiss would make him leave, I wanted to call a teacher and accuse him of harrasment.

Of course I said no. At first. And when I did, he stated that he didn't expect me to do it anyway because I was too chicken. And then he said I dare you to, and that's when I snapped. So, after giving Billy the best kiss of his life- for a third grader-, I beat the living crap out of him, and trust me the teachers were looking, but there were no fucks to be given by them because everyone in the entire school despised Billy.

But that's not the point of the story. The point is that ever since then, I'd vowed to never seem weak or cowardly in front of anyone if I could help it. Piper of course knew this and used it to her advantage. So of course, I did have to wear Piper's clothes. I know that sounded like an easy task, but not with Piper. You see, Piper was sort of clothes freak, and she only had and I quote, "The best and cutest clothes that make you seem like a nice girl and not a whore." But that was her opinion. I thought anything with sparkles was a whoreish outfit, and anything low cut meant you were a prostitue in making.

I wish somebody would've taken a picture of her face when I said I'd wear her clothes because it was just absolutely priceless. She looked like a little kid on Christmas day. She'd grabbed my arm so forcefully I thought I was going to get a bruise.

"Thalia! It worked!" And when she said that I finally realized what she'd done and that there was no way of getting out of it now. Thalia padded out of my room and raised an eyebrow at me.

"I thought you were smarter than that, Annie." I groaned in frustration as Piper shoved me in the room. Thalia was absolutely right, like most of the time, but I'd never actually admit that to ther. I'd met Thalia in the third grade right after the Billy incident. After I beat him up, she'd walked up to me, looked me up and down with scrutinizing eyes, and then said, "I was planning on doing that soon, but I guess I don't have to anymore." And then, after I split my brownie with her, it was a done deal. I was stuck with her and she was stuck with me.

The next half hour after Piper had trapped me was a complete nightmare. It was obvious she'd planned this, as she brought some of her 'nicest' clothes. By the time I was done, I wanted to get a pair of scissors and start chopping up the clothes I was wearing. I'd prefer walking out onto the street naked than with what I was in. I'd shut my mouth as soon as she brought out the disgusting dress she had supposedly brought for herself, but was now letting me use. It was a flowly number that belonged in summer time not fall and it was too short for my taste, but hey, I couldn't really complain. I drew the line at the heels. No way was I going to hurt my feet just to get some Starbucks. Luckily- not luckily at all- Piper had 'coincidentally' brought two pairs of shoes.

"Oh my gosh... Annabeth... You actually have boobs now." Thalia commented from the bed. She glanced at Piper with praise while I took offence to her words.

"Did I not have any before?" Thalia snickered while Piper scoffed.

"No, you have plenty. She means that now you can actually tell you have boobs." I rolled my eyes and went to rub my eyes. As my fist was about to meet my eye, Piper screeched and grabbed my arm. "No, you'll ruin your make up!" I glared at her and snatched the keys from her hand, grabbing the flats that I'd distastefully agreed to wear and running down the stairs. I'd avoided Malcolm's stares, stomped out of the house, and drove to Starbucks with anger in my veins that day.

I hated dressing up, and I hated people telling me what to do. I got enough commands from the cheer coach, I didn't need it from anyone else. I'd ended up in cheer the same way I'd ended up wearing a dress. A dare. I'd been in gymnastics since I could stand, and I loved it. I loved it more than the leprechaun loved his lucky charms. At the end of eight grade, Piper decided that she would try out for cheer, and then she'd dared me to try out with her. And of course I got in. But then I never quit because... Well because I didn't.

I parked Piper's shabby truck- it was the one possession she had that I liked because it wasn't luxurious- and hopped out, grabbing a twenty from the cup holder and walking in quietly. There was a sinfully long line and I let out an exesperated breath as I realized I'd probably be there for at least twenty minutes. Luckily for me, the line actually ended up moving pretty quickly and I got my drinks in less time than I thought. I could feel people's eyes on me as I headed for the napkin stand and grabbed the nutmeg off the little counter top. I grabbed a handful of napkins and turned around quickly, and that was when I bumped into _him_.

He was raven haired and green eyed, and all things that made a girl wanna melt. Except for this particular girl because this particular girl was already in the process of melting, as she had hot coffee on her chest.

"I'm sorry," I started quickly because if was being honest, it was my fault that the whole incident had happened. I thought I'd be getting an apology too, but that was not what happened. Instead the guy glared at me, and I wasn't intimidated, I was just shocked.

"Yeah, you should be. You just made me waste five dollars."

"Excuse me?" He looked at me like I was stupid.

"Here, I'll put in a way that you can understand. Thanks for your apology because I just totally wasted totally good money." He said in a fake prissy girl voice. And after that it was all down hill, no one could rail me in at that point. I wasn't one to just shut up, and I was also easily ticked off.

"Are you calling me stupid?" He held his hand up to his chest and mock gasped.

"Surprised you knew what I was saying Blondie." By now people were starting to stare at us but I didn't care.

"I'll have you know my GPA is higher than yours will ever be." I replied hotly.

"I seriously doubt it, I mean have you looked at yourself in the mirror recently?" He said looking disinterested. "All I know is that you just couldn't stay out of my way or watch where you were going and now I'm having a less than intelligent conversation with someone who doesn't deserve my time."

"What the hell is your problem?" I asked angrily. The guy was seriously getting on my last nerve and I had half a mind to beat the living shit out of him. He was an asshole, that's for sure. He automatically assumed I was a dumb blonde because I was dressed up like one, so nice showing of stereotyping there. He pretended to think for a minute and then nodded as if he knew the answer.

"Uh. Yeah, you." I scoffed.

"You don't even know me! Besides, shouldn't I be the upset one, I'm the one who has coffee all over them!"

"Yeah, I'm glad I don't know you." He said, ignoring the second part of my statement.

"Well I'm glad I don't know you!"

"Aw, so stupid you can't come up with your own words?" I closed my eyes briefly and smiled. Then, quietly, I grabbed one of the frappuchinos and decided that Thalia and Piper could share one as I dumped the contents of the cup on the mystery guys' head. The whole store reacted as the frappuchino rolled down his face and his mouth hung open as he glared at me.

"Oops, sorry, guess I'm too stupid to realize that you shouldn't turn an open cup upside down." I replied innocently.

"Bitch!" I grabbed the other cup and headed for the door.

"Asshole." I spit at him and then I closed the door behind me and jumped into my car smelling like over priced coffee. I was pissed, wet, and over dressed. Something in my mind yelled at me about how I shouldn't have taken the dare, but I ignored it because I knew it was right. At the time, the knowledge that I'd never have to see the guy again cheered me up. But, if you knew me, you'd know that things never went the way I wanted them to, and this incident was no exception to that.

* * *

**AN: So. How was it? Drop me a review if you can. Or not. It's cool, but I'd appreciate it. Alright, night- ShyGal**


	2. Chapter 2: I find my Rival's Bra

**Encounters**

**AN**:**Oh Lord. You guys gave me a heart attack. I honestly thought no one would read the first chapter, but I was pleasantly surprised with my nineteen reviews. I loved each and every one of them. I must say, though, that my absolute favorite review came from the user jodycat2000 saying and I quote " Dude I am dying in laughter right now. Percy you never judge a girl by how she looks you dumbass. This was great I can't for you to update." I literally died reading this, I cracked the fuck up. So, jodycat200, thank you for bringing me laughter, and I'm happy to say I'm continuing! I also liked Frosted Rock's suggesion on their review, and I'll probably end up doing that, so yeah. Without further ado, I give my readers chapter two. **

**Percy**

I hated airplanes. If someone came and asked me what I despised most in the world, I wouldn't even hesitate in my response. It wasn't only the fact that my Dad died in an airplane crash, it was also the fact that airplanes were just annoying as fuck.

Your ears pop, you can't sleep because the arm rests are poking you like over sized metal thorns, and the airplane food looks like dried up vomit. I hated them, I hated them, I hated them.

So, of course, when I got on the airplane that would take me from Buffalo to Long Island, I was about to shoot somebody. I could barely contain my anxiety. I'm ashamed to say that my mother had to hold my hand through the whole ride.

The roughly three and a half hour flight was my fault. I came home one day complaining about the horrile and horendous school system because the ISD I was attending was horrible and shameful. My beautiful, amazing mother decided that enough was enough, and so she searched for top-notch schools in New York. The best one, unfortunatley, was all the way in Long Island, but what was done was done and now I was moving for a higher education.

When I got to Long Island, I was pissed as fuck. We had a horrible flight. Our stewardess refused to give my mother peanuts, and then when I asked for Dr. Pepper, she gave me a look and told me that my taste was horrible. I politely told her that she was being a bitch, and then grabbed my bags.

Mom got us a cab to our new house, which she managed to buy because of her amazing job as senior manager of a sucessful candy company. Our new house was beautiful and perfect and amazing. I was in love with it, and I was actually pretty excited to now be part of an ISD that wasn't filled with teenage crack whores and gangs. As soon as we got there, Mom told me that she was gonna head down to the car dealers to get us a car, so I was left alone in our roomy house, still pissed off, and still pretty tired. Since I didn't have anything better to do with my time, I decided to go get coffee at the nearest Starbucks I could find. That's when everything went wrong.

I'm not naturally an asshole, I promise, but I was already having a bad day, and when I saw the coffee prices, I almost died because Starbucks is just insanely priced, so when this hot blonde bumped into me, I was about done. She was hot. She was so hot. She had a bone deep tan, and blonde locks flowing down her back. Her eyes were surprising. I was expecting blue ones, but then I met a storm and it was definitley a change. I could see her bra through her shirt, and that's when I realized what had happened. I could see her bra because her shirt was wet, and her shirt was wet because my coffee spilled on her. I couldn't stop the rage that occured. I had just paid five bucks for the coffee, and now it was all over the chest of this smoking hot girl. I mean, I wanted my coffee, and I'm pretty sure it would seem just a _little_ vulgar if I started licking the coffee off her chest, so I was pretty much at a dead end.

I started blabbing about things that I didn't know, and some of the stuff was offensive, but at the moment the only thing I could focus on was the fact that my coffee was on her breasts. Nex thing I know, I'm back home washing frappuchino out of my hair. The girl was just... a total bitch. Then again, I was being an ass as well, so I guess I kind of deserved it, but still. I was an expert at holding grudges.

I'd texted my friend Malcolm about the situation the night it happened and ranted about how horrible my day had been. I met Malcolm at a football camp when we were both in eight grade, and we saw each other every summer at the same football camp. He was such an ass sometimes and I was also an ass sometimes, so we were great friends.

I spent the rest of my weekend unpacking things from boxes and decorating my new room- which was pretty amazing if I do say so myself. By the time I was done, it was Sunday night, and now I found myself waiting for Malcolm to pick me up for school. Goode, the school I was going to, was supposed to be a really amazing and great school, especially for sports. I was really looking forward to having a fresh start. I was praying to the lord above that the girl from the coffee shop wasn't there because if she was, I'd rip the hair our of my head.

"Percy, Malcolm's here for you." I looked up at my mother and smiled, grabbing my bag and slinging it over my shoulder.

"Thank you, Mom. For everything. I know it took a lot to move over here, and I appreciate it a lot. I love you." Her big blue eyes grew big and she smiled at me proudly.

"I love you too." She enveloped me in a hug and I smiled at the fact that I was taller than her. "If only your dad could see you now. He'd be so incredibly proud of you." I stiffened under her touch.

"I should go, Mom. I'll see you later."

"Alright sweetie." And then I was gone. I didn't like to talk about my dad too much. He left so abruptly that I didn't even register what had happened until a couple days later. Apparently, when he was flying to San Francisco for a buisness trip, something went wrong with the engines and they spiraled down. The weird thing was, the crash was never announced or made headlines. I missed my Dad so much. He was my inspiration for football. I remember when I was small, he would throw me the ball for fun, but I would look at it as a challenge.

"Perce, what's up man?" I jumped into Malcolm's car and dropped my bag.

"Not much, you?"

"Oh, nothing much. I got a muffin thrown at my head this morning." He replied with a laugh in his voice. I stared at him confused. Malcolm was one of those guys who could get anyone he wanted. He was so popular that it really just got ridiculous at some points. From what he'd told me, people asked him for autographs just because of how popular he was. It was insane. He was definitley a player at our school, and he went after any girl who could breath. My foot hit something and when I looked down to see what it was, my eyes bulged out of my face.

"Um. Malcolm. Who's is this?" I picked up the lacy black bra and held it with a finger. He glanced over and scowled at it.

"Damn her. It's my sisters. She had a cheer leading tournament thing last weekend so she borrowed my truck."

"Um, your sister has pretty big-"

"I don't want to hear about how big they are! God, she's my sister! Gross!" I laughed at his disgusted remark and threw the bra in the back. "I can't believe you touched that thing. Ugh. Maybe you can burn your hand later."

"Is your sister that bad?"

"I wouldn't be able to give you an accurate description, she's my sister. I only look at girls that I can date. She's blonde. And a cheerleader." I gave him a look.

"Well I figured as much." He let out an exesperated breath.

"She's also on the school's debate team, and she skipped a grade a long time ago, so she's in our grade." He replied as he pulled into a parking space. "She's really into video games."

"What kind?" He shook his head and grabbed his bag.

"Any kind. She lives off of the computer."

"Sounds interesting." I said as I grabbed my bag, and then we both walked up the steps to the front doors.

"She's not." He pushed the doors open and strategically swerved through the crowd of students, affectively leading me to the front office. I asked the lady at the front desk for my schedule and after I got it, compared it it to his.

"Sucks. You have first period English. I have first period math. I gotta go man, I'll see you this afternoon when you come talk to the coach." I nodded, and after waisting ten minutes on trying to find my way to the right classroom, ended up in the right way. I slid in quietly, handed the teacher my schedule, and then picked a seat in the middle. Students started filing in to the classroom, and when the bell rung, all seats were occupied. The class began a discussion on Julius Ceaser and the symbolisms in the play.

"Calpurnia has a dream in which a statue of Ceaser is spouting blood. Is there any symbolism in this on what happens later on?" Before I could get my hand up, a blonde's hand shot up into the air.

"Yes, Annabeth?"

"It's significant in the way that later on, when Brutus and his group have killed Ceaser, they wash their hands in his blood." I stared at the blonde girl's curled pony tail and started scribbling notes down on my notebook.

"Very good, Annabeth. Can anybody else tell me anything?" Nobody did. My day went by fairly quickly after that first class, and soon enough I was waiting by the football field for the coach. I wasn't officially on the team since I'd come in half way through the season, but I was almost positive I could convince the coach because of my experience in football. I eyed the field and caught sight of the cheer leaders practicing on one end of the field. I saw a blonde girl's pony tail and instantly recognized her as the girl from english class.

"Don't stare too much over there." Someone warned from behind me. I turned to find Malcolm clad in his uniform. He flashed me a smile and stretched his arms behind his back.

"Why not?" I shouldered my bag and ripped my eyes away from the cheerleaders.

"Because if you're going to be on the team, you can't date a cheerleader." My eyebrows came together before I started laughing like a maniac.

"_Can't_ date a cheerleader? Isn't that what's supposed to happen? You know, the stereotype is that the football player dates the cheerleader and then they live happily ever after? Or am I completely wrong about that?" Malcolm snickered and ran a hand through his hair as a girl in track walked by and sent him a shy, conserved smile.

"The latter. I mean, the stereotype is right, but not at Goode. There's a huge rivalry between the cheerleaders and the football players that goes back, like, twenty years. It's never been encouraged to date a cheerleader, ever. We hate each other. When someone new joins the team, they have to take an oath to never date a cheerleader. If they get caught... there could be consequences."

"I thought you said your sister was a cheerleader?"

"Yeah? And that matters why? I can hate the cheerleaders and not completely hate my sister." He joked. "Besides, it's not like I'd ever let any of my friends date her. She's my sister." I nodded, confused at his logic but slightly amused at the fact that he just let someone know that he's secretly protective of his sister. As I got lost in my thoughts, I saw a figure moving closer, but I wasn't particularly paying attention to it until I heard the figure's voice.

"Malcolm, why are you guys here, we have the field today, remember?" The voice sounded oddly familiar, and as my eyes moved up to connect the face to the voice, the voice screeched.

"_You_? What the _fuck_ are you doing here?" And that's when the connection was made. The coffee shop girl! Oh for the love of God. I was _not_ that bad of a person, but the first thought that popped into my mind was karma. Karma was getting back at me for being such an ass to her at Starbucks. Karma was and would continue to be a bitch forever. But, I mean, what were the chances that we would ever see each other again?

I tried to print a scowl on my face, but the girl was making it pretty difficult with her outfit right now. I spied little beads of sweat forming on her forehead, underneath her eyes, and dripping down the ends of her hair. Her cheast heaved up and down as if she was trying to catch her breath, and I desperatly tried to avoid looking down because if I did I would be dead as fuck. I wanted to rip my jeans off my body and put them on her because the shorts she was wearing were exposing her tan legs, and that wasn't okay with me in the slightest bit.

My eyes widened slightly as I wondered what kind of connection she had to Malcolm, and instead of acknowledging her presecence, I whipped to face my best friend.

"Tell me she's not your sister. Please." I was seriously hoping, but the more I looked at her, the more I realized that the similarities were uncanny. They had the same nose and the same shade of blonde hair. The only difference was that her facial structure was more feminine and Malcolm had blue eyes. If she wasn't his sister, then I wasn't breathing.

"Um, have you guys met before?" I let out a disgusted, guttural noise and scrunched my nose up.

"I touched _her_ bra? Seriously? _Seriously_? Oh my fucking God!"

"You touched my bra?! What?! So you're an asshole _and_ a pervert! I should've guessed honestly!"

"Oh whatever! I should've guessed you were a cheerleader judging by your prissy attitude and choice of clothing!" She stomped down, making her chest quiver and I swallowed a lump in my throat. I needed to stop checking her out before Malcolm realized I was ogling his sister. A burnette walked up behind her.

"Come on, Annie. We need to get back to practice." Blondie cringed as the burnette called her that and her face twisted in disgust.

"Please, Piper, stop calling me that. It's annoying as fuck." She snapped a little forcefully. The burnettes eyes grew big and the blonde's face softened.

"I'm sorry, I'm just kinda agitated right now because this guy over here," she jabbed a thumb in my direction, "has a stick so far up his ass it's coming out the other end." My mouth dropped open, but Malcolm responded before I could get a word out.

"Annabeth! What's going on with you?" So that was her name.

"What's going on here is that this fucker pissed me the literal fuck off at Starbucks the other day, and I feel nothing but hatred for him."

"This is the guy you were talking about?" The burnette piped up, and Annabeth just nodded as she crossed her arms over her chest. The burnette turned to me and glared. "Let me just tell you that I do _not_ have a good first impression of you right now. Because of you, I had to share my frappuchino. I don't like sharing my Starbucks." I scoffed.

"Because of her I didn't even get Starbucks!"

"You could've bought another one!" Annabeth yelled as she balled her fists.

"Do you know how much those things cost?! Buy another one my ass!"

"Mmm. Hate to agree with him on that one, but he's kinda right." The burnette who I could only assume was 'Piper' relented.

"Okay, seriously? Who's side are you on? And I apologized to you, but you just decided it was the best time to be a complete fucktard about things and pick on the first person that came into your line of sight!"

"Well-"

"You guys!" We both turned to look at Malcolm who looked like he was about to bust out laughing right there. "You'll have to learn to get along. Annabeth, Percy's my best friend-"

"Fuck." She muttered.

"Which means he'll probably hang around the house a lot."

"Fuck! So you mean to tell me that this asshat is going to have more opportunities to touch my lingerie?!"

"Oh my god, you don't even understand that situation!" I yelled in frustration.

"I don't need to!" She yelled as she leaned her face close in an attempt to intimidate me. "All I know is that you touched a place where my boobs have been, and I don't appreciate that!"

"Like I'd ever want to! I didn't know it was yours! And it wasn't like I was all up in them!"

"Annabeth, we need to go!" Piper warned, grabbing her arm and starting to drag her away.

"I hope you know I don't like you." She stated with a glare as she was being dragged away.

"Oh, don't worry, your feelings are returned Blondie."

"Fuck you."

"Thanks, I'll pass." I yelled after her. She flipped me off and I shook my head at her. Laughter errupted from behind me and I turned around to see Malcolm clutching his sides.

"Dude, that was too fucking funny. At least I know you won't have a problem with the whole no dating cheerleaders thing." I laughed half-heartedly as he patted me on the back and ran off to be with his team. As the coach approached me, I realized I was not ready to prove myself to him. I was still trying to process the fact that the girl from the coffee shop and my best friend's sister were the same person.

* * *

**AN: I'm dying right now, I just can't. Anyways, if you're following my other story, Exceptions, letting you know that that's ending really really soon. Like maybe two more chapters and then epilouge. After that, I'll start on the sequel, but I'm also going to be focusing on this story, so yeah. Don't fret. Anyways, drop me a review if you want, it'd be greatly appreciated. Until next time- ShyGal**

**P.S: Did you like the chapter title?**


	3. Chapter 3: A football almost kills me

**Encounters**

**AN:I know I shouldn't do this, but I have to. I'M SO HAPPY. The last chapter I uploaded to my story Exceptions, went just like I wanted to, and I'm pretty sure everyone was pleased so I'm just soooo happy. If you guys are interested at all, I'm going to be writing a sequel to that story, so if you haven't read it and want to read my sequel, check out the story. Only if you want to though lol. Anyway, yeah, so excited. Thank you to those of you who reviewed last chapter, every review means something to me. **

**Annabeth**

"Asshole."

"But he's hella cute though."

"Asshole."

"Can you imagine him in his uniform?" I smiled sweetly at Piper as I turned around and walked backwards on the turf.

"No, but I can imagine him in the darkest and deepest pits of hell, I truly can." She gave me a look as she tossed her hair up in a ponytail.

One day. He'd only been in school for one day before some poor, unknowing freshman got benched and replaced by him. Apparently, he was an amazingly talented football player, and there was no way the coach could pass up the opportunity to make playoffs. I hated him. I think people got the point too, but I couldn't express exactly how _much_ I hated him. And I just _had_ to be so lucky that he turns out to be my brother's best friend. I mean, just beautiful. I'd like to kick him in the groin.

Now, though, it was Wednesday, which meant that we had two days to get ready for blinding lights, screaming students, and a marching band playing at half time. Oh, and the football team, but I mean, were they really important?

"I love you, Annie." Piper stated as she laughed and then dropped down to stretch her long, tanned legs. I grabbed my arm from behind and stretched it out.

"Chase! McLean!" Our heads whipped to the direction of the voice, and I met the cold eyes of Drew Tanaka. I resisted the scowl that wanted to print itself on my face and pressed my lips together.

In fourth grade, Drew hadn't been that bad of a person. She was actually, admittably nice. Then, in fifth grade when we came back, she turned into this, for better usage of word, bitch. She wouldn't stop to consider anybody else's feelings, and when she wanted something, she'd stomp over anything and anyone to get it. She was this school's queen bee, and everyone was scared shitless of her.

Well, almost everyone. Thalia slapped her in seventh grade, and ever since then, the entire population of Goode has known that the only person who Drew actually avoided was one of my lovely best friends.

I didn't really give two fucks what Drew thought of me because I knew that the only thing she could really do to hurt me was scratch me with one of her super glued fake nails. Other than that, I was absolutely fine.

I had a pretty good reputation at this school, thanks to my good for nothing brother- can you feel the sibling love? Unfortunatley for me, it wasn't the kind of reputation I wanted. You see, when my brother and I entered high school, I was off in this summer exchange program that didn't end till September, which meant that I'd be missing a month of school. I'd skipped a grade at a very early age, so Malcolm and I were in the same grade. Malcolm, however, did not go on the exchange program with me, so he got to go to Goode alone for a whole month.

My credits from the exchange program carried over when I started at Goode, so there was no work to make up, but by the time I got there, everything had changed. People didn't address me as Annabeth Chase, they addressed me as Malcolm's little sister because when I was gone, he'd made himself known to Goode. All the sports he was in, and his attractive good looks- though I wouldn't know because he's my brother- got him noticed, and quickly, so when I came back, that was my label. I became well known because of it, but I was really kind of just a little pissed the fuck off that I was just Malcolm's little sister to everyone except the people who were close to me.

I didn't even want to be well known! I wanted to go through high school without drama, and with my friends by my side. I didn't want popularity, or high school fame if you will. I wanted a bag of flaming hot cheetos, and an empty computer lab where I could play unlimited amounts of games without anyone coming up to remind me that I had cheer practice, or that I was so amazing, or some other shit that I really didn't care for.

And I swear to you, half the time people came up to talk to me, they ended up dishing out the most useless information and/or questions. The other day, this girl came up to me and asked me what Malcolm's blood type was. I almost spit in her face. I mean, really? Is my brother so popular that people will go through his sister to get answers? I didn't see the point.

Nobody really stopped to think about all this useless shit. No one stopped to think that in a couple years, the popular guy in their school, or the prom queen, or the girl who got knocked up and had twins wouldn't matter! It's not like your college professor is going to come up to you, announce a pop quiz and then ask you who was the most popular guy or girl at your school. But, you know if that ever happened, whoever that happened to could feel free to come up to me and just rub it in my face that I was wrong.

I just didn't understand. I really didn't understand a bit. Why go through all the trouble of trying to keep up with who's popular and who's not when it simply wouldn't matter at all, in the slightest bit. Is Malcolm Chase providing food for your table, and a good solid income? No? Yeah, then get his bloody name out of your bloody mouth or I'll personally take it upon myself to make your mouth bloody in real life.

I just hated it. I mean, my brother wasn't _that_ big of a deal. Sometimes, his popularity just pissed me off, not because I was jealous, but because it was just absolutely _ridiculous_ how much people blew his status up. I just, I can't stress it enough.

Anyway, not the point. The point is, I had a semi-high status that I didn't want, but was impossible to knock down unless you killed my brother. Because of that, Drew didn't bother me at all, not that she would've bothered me if I didn't have a high status because I knew how to fend for myself. I mean, do I have to repeat the Billy story again?

Piper, though, was not as lucky. Drew used to bully Piper so hard it was not even funny. Piper was so perfect in every way, but she had a really troubled life. Now, I'd grown up with this girl, and let me tell you that she's one of the strongest people I've ever met and I loved her. Like, if I was a lesbian, she'd be my wife because I love her so much. Anyway, like I said, one of the strongest people I've met, but everyone has their breaking points, and hers had come pretty early.

Drew's torment started in seventh grade. At first, it was subtle comments. Insults about her hair, insults about her eyes, just insults in general. Then, came the public attacks. She'd catch her in the cafeteria and insult her in public, sometimes shove her 'playfully' or 'jokingly'. I could see the deterioration in Piper's eyes as her depression progressed, but me being the little thirteen year old I was, couldn't put the puzzle pieces together.

I still blame myself for what happened. When I found out, I felt like my world was falling apart around me and I couldn't catch the falling parts. It was the worst feeling in the entire freaking world. I mean, I should've known. It was right in front of me, right in front of everyone and I was just so freaking oblivious. One time, when we were changing in the locker room, I saw the beggining of it. When I questioned her about it, she swore up and down that it was just cat scratches and I stupidly believed her.

Then came the breaking point. Piper was wearing kahkis when mother nature decided it was time for her to officially become a woman. Lucky for her, we were in an empty locker room when it started. Not lucky for her, Drew walked in when I pointed it out to her, and took a picture without us even noticing. Next period, Piper's blood stained kahkis were on Facebook. Piper literally broke down in the middle of the class when she got a notification from Facebook- because Drew seemed to think that tagging her in the picture would be a good idea.

Thalia threatened the fuck out of Drew until she deleted the picture. Luckily, only Drew's friends had seen the picture because back then, pulling your phone out in class was like getting caught with drugs in your locker now. After the picture was deleted, Thalia slapped Drew across the face during passing period, making sure everyone was watching. That resulted in her and Drew going to the principal's office. Thalia fully admitted to slapping her, but then explained why, which got the principal's attention. Drew got suspended for a week for exposing the photo, and Thalia got a week's detention.

Through all this, no one had bothered to notice that Piper had disappeared from public eye. I was walking down with Thalia when I heard the first scream. I heard it, and I instantly knew it had something to do with Piper. Next thing I know, Thalia and I are running out towards the back of the school to find Silena Beauregard screaming at the top of her lungs towards the roof of the school, and Piper on the ledge.

Silena panicked and ran off to find an administrator, and as we ran towards Piper, she jumped off the ledge. Thalia and I wouldn't have made it in time. We just wouldn't have. We were too far away from her. She would've died. But she didn't because Jason Grace, Thalia's brother, rounded the corner just in time to catch her as she spiraled towards the cement. She landed on him, and the impact had resulted in him ending up with a broken arm, and Piper going to a behavioral health hospital for attempted suicide, suicidal tendencies, and major depression.

She came back to school about a month and a half later, and by the next year, she was stable and back to her normal self. She was fine now. She had a counselor that she went to occasionally, and she'd been off her meds for a year now. She was happy. She still had scars, but those were there to show that she'd overcome that part of her life.

Still, I couldn't help but think that Drew was just trying to get back at her again and start up her torture. When Piper had announced that she'd try out for cheerleading in eight grade, Drew decided she would as well. I tried out because Piper had begged me too, and because I wanted to make sure she'd be safe from Drew. Drew was now the captain, something that Piper was really aiming for, and something that everyone on the team was just pissed off about.

So now, here was our captain calling us over so we could start practice. Her voice was like nails on a chalk board, it made me cringe and groan and just... ugh.

"Yes?" I asked snarkily as I got up and shot her a fake as fuck smile.

"We're waiting... You're holding the team back because you can't hurry up. So get in formation, now." I gave Piper's arm a squeeze, sent her a smile, and then trudged my way over to my spot next to Rachel Dare.

It's not like I completely hated cheerleading. I mean, I guess it was fun, right? I just, wouldn't willingly go and try out for it. I did it for Pipes, but now that I was in it, I was kind of glad I tried out, though I wouldn't admit that to anyone.

"I am so sorry for you." Rachel mumbled quietly as we started team warm ups. I refrained from glancing at her and stiffled my smile.

"Yeah, I'm sorry for me too. I'm sorry for anyone that has to look at her god awful face." I smirked as I heard Rachel trying to hold back her laughter. Drew shot me a look from the front and I painted an impassive look on my face.

"Chase! Come on, you're one of the new flyers for the formation, let's go."

"We haven't even warmed up yet!" Someone interjected from the back, and I turned to find it was Silena.

"And? I'm the captain, what I say goes. Front and center, Annabeth." I cringed as she called me by my full name. I hated my name, it was just too... soft for me. That's why I liked it when people called me Chase, and absolutely _despised_ it when people called me Annie.

I walked to the front, trying not to glare at Drew and chewing on the inside of my cheek.

"Okay, everyone, get in you pods! Flyers: Chase, Dare, Pitre, Higgins. Ready?" Nods were spread around the team and my eyes reached the heavens as I balanced myself on Silena and Lauren's cupped hands. I held my breath as the lifted me up and then threw me up into the air at Drew's signal. Most of practice was fine. We spent the majority of our time practicing the same routine, with me being thrown into the air most of the time.

It was frightening. Being up in the air for even a fraction of a second. I'd been thrown up in the air before, and I'd always experienced that small moment of panic when it feels like you're about to fall. It's just scary as hell. But it was also exhilirating. Just being free, and having absolutely no control of what would happen to you while you were up there.

It was great, it really was. That is until a wayward football knocks the breath out of you and you end up toppling over and to the ground. That's what happened to me.

My eyes shot open as the football made impact with my torso, and I sucked in the biggest gulp of air I could manage as my balance was lost and I fell towards the turf. I didn't scream though. That was against my principals. If I screamed, I'd be letting people know that I was scared of hitting the ground, and as far as everyone knew, I wasn't scared of anything, or anyone. Instead of reacting like the normal person would, I pressed my lips together and shut my eyes, waiting for some type of pain to shoot up my leg or my arm, or one of my body parts.

It never came though. Instead, I was met with strong arms, and a pain shooting up my shoulder. There were shouts heard around me, and I slowly opened my eyes to meet Jason's bright blue ones.

"Are you okay?" I let out a breath and smiled tightly.

"Just, fucking peachy." I replied after managing to stand up by myself. I couldn't show affection towards Jason, no matter how badly I wanted to hug him and thank him for catching me. He was a football player. It was forbidden. I mouthed a thank you to him, and then whipped around to see the commotion unraveling around me.

It was like a mob on the football field. There were cheerleaders running around, and football players screaming bloody murder. I let out a breath and marched right up to the crowded cluster of jocks.

"What the hell was that?" I yelled so loud that everyone stopped what they were doing for a second to look at me.

"What was what?" Some unreconizable voice shouted from the back of the cluster, and I brought my hand up to hold the bridge of my nose.

"One of you guys hit the football over to our side of the field, and I almost ended up getting hurt. You know, for football players who are supposed to be the best of the best, you sure do have horrible aim. Refrain from trying to purposely injure us please and thank you." I glanced around the silent group and met my brother's eyes, then the ones of my newest enemy. As soon as our eyes met, I whipped mine away without a warning. I wanted nothing to do with that guy. As soon as the words left my mouth, the shouting restarted. Drew was pointing a finger at a dark skinned guy, Rachel was cussing out some guy who was rolling his eyes at her, and Piper was having what looked like a heated conversation with Jason.

"Anna!" I turned to meet my brother walking towards me, and everyone around us quieting down at the beggining of our interaction. Honestly, me and my brother's sibling relation was the only thing keeping the two teams from commiting homicide.

"Hmm?"

"Hey, I'm going to stay for a meeting with coach, I'll get someone to drive me home, can you take my car-"

"Yeah, of course." I replied quickly, cutting him off. His blue eyes were almost scared, and that made me feel confused.

"Um. You didn't let me finish. I gave Percy a ride here." I tensed as I realized what Malcolm was trying to tell me. I let out a breath and shut my eyes. I thought that being in the same building as the guy was too close of a distance, being in an enclosed vehicle made me wanna go spend more of my own money just to dump more coffee on him.

"And?"

"Can you take him home?" Malcolm asked trying to sound impassive, but I knew that he was really begging me to not put a fight and just do him a solid. After what seemed like hours of us staring at each other, I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest.

"And what do I get out of it?" He let out a breath before scowling at me.

"I'll give you twenty bucks and buy you a family size bag of hot cheetos."

"Make it twenty five and get me two bags." I shot out instantly. That was the only negotiation I was willing to take, otherwise I'd leave Percy's sorry ass stranded in the stadium.

"Twenty five bucks? That's ridiculous! No way." I raised an eyebrow at him and visibly popped my own bra strap, reminding him that his best friend had happened to touch my bra. The scowl reappeared on his face and he huffed. "Fine."

"Okay, then we have a deal." I searched the crowd and found Drew still talking to an unnamed football player.

"Is practice over?" I yelled at her, grabbing her attention and effectively getting her to rip her eyes away from the football player. She narrowed her eyes at me but managed a stiff nod. I walked over to Piper- who was still talking to Jason- and gripped her shoulder. She looked up at me and gave me a forced smile. "I'm leaving, alright?" She nodded, and as soon as we said our goodbyes, I walked up to Percy and grabbed his disgustingly sweaty arm, dragging him away without warning and leaving the other football members shouting.

"Wha-"

"You need a ride home, right? Shut up and walk." I replied with a bored tone. Surprisingly, he did what I wanted and walked with me all the way to where my stuff was, and then all the way to where Malcolm's stuff was so I could grab the keys for the car. The walk to the car was silent, and I managed to shove the keys in ignition and pull out of the parking lot without completely killing the guy.

"I'm sorry about the football." He muttered quietly as I turned the radio up. I almost smacked the wheel when he spoke.

"How did I not connect the dots? Of course it was you who hit the football. Such an obvious connection." I replied almost laughing, but there was nothing funny about the situation at all.

"It was an accident."

"Yeah, well so was our little interaction at Starbucks, yet you blew that up, so following your logic, I should be really fucking pissed off at you for no reason at all, and then I should act like a dick, and then I should touch your boxers because that's what you did." I snapped as we hit a red light. I stopped the car and leaned back in my seat, risking a glance at him.

He was sweaty, and tan, and his hair was disheveled, and maybe I could see what Piper was talking about, but his disgusting attitude just made him seem like an ugly person at heart.

"Touching your bra was an accident! I didn't know!" I laughed at his argument and pressed on the gas as the light turned green.

"You shouldn't touch any girl's bra anyway! What, everytime you see lingerie you have to touch it? No, leave it alone!"

"You know, I'm trying to apologize for the football thing, okay? You're not making things easy for me." He directed me down a street and I turned into it.

"I will never, for the entirety of the time that I'm forced to spend with you, make things easy for you, so I suggest you get used to it now." He let out a breath and glanced at me, but I kept my eyes on the road in front of me.

"Okay, I get it, you despise me, can we move on now?"

"No. You're an asshole. I don't think I'll be moving on from anything anytime soon."

"You know, I'm not the only one who did something bad at Starbucks." He said under his breath. That time, I did smack the steering wheel, and it resulted in my horn blaring.

"You're the one who was being a little bitch first! I apologized before I even saw you, but you were being such an ass the whole freaking time! You didn't even ask if I was okay after the coffee spilled on me, so please just shut up. If things had gone down differently then, maybe now I wouldn't hate you the way I do. You're so horrible." I rushed out as I stopped at a two story red-brick house. "Now get out of the car." He glared at me and I glared right back, watching him closely as he grabbed his stuff and climbed out of the car.

"Tha-"

"Don't even try to act like you're thankful to me. Goodnight." His eyes hardened and he slammed the car door.

"Fine, goodbye." And then I was off.

* * *

The next day was hell. My stepmother, Helen, woke me and Malcolm up in the rudest manner possible, I forgot to eat breakfast, and then I got to first period. I hadn't even realized he was in my class until I looked behind me the other day. I decided I'd just ignore him, I mean why make myself miserable when I could just block out his existence completely? It'd been working fine, until the teacher decided it was a good idea to pair me up with him for an assignment.

Apparently, we looked like we could work well together. Obviously, the teacher was on drugs because if Percy and I could work together, then Thalia and my brother could get along. Honestly, where was the logic?

The assignment was about the greek Gods and Goddesses. We had to pick one greek god, and one greek goddess, and analyze the connection they had to each other, and their backgrounds.

The project would be due at the end of the month- so the end of October- and the teacher said that if partners didn't work together, she'd fail both people, which meant that I was being forced to spend time with the walking dick. Now, I was in Thalia's car, trying to get home so I could work on my debate cases.

See, when I was coming in to high school and we got course selections, I had to put down cheerleading as one because of Piper- as you already know. I wanted to take a design class, but Goode didn't offer design classes, so I went for the next thing that interested me which happened to be debate.

Most people think it's a blow off class, but it's anything but. At first, I hated it. It was so confusing, and so difficult. Then I talked to some of the senior debaters, and they really helped me understand some of the basics.

When I first started debating, I was put into the Lincoln Douglass debate form. Lincoln Douglass is basically a debate between two people about one topic. One person is affirming and defending the topic, and the other person is trying to disproove it. Ever since freshman year, I've only let myself do Lincoln Douglass. I haven't strayed from that ever, and I never plan to. Right now, the topic of debate was organ procurement.

Some people thought it was odd for me to be in debate because I was a cheerleader, and to all those people I replied with the same thing. Stop stereotyping. It's ridiculous how much people use stereotyping to justify something else. It's so stupid.

"So he's your brother's best friend?" Thalia asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah. I hate him." Thalia bursted out laughing as she parked the car in front of my drive way and jumped out of the car as I pulled my bag out of the car.

"I can tell, babe." I rolled my eyes at her and ran up the stairs as soon as we got inside, Thalia following close behind me. As soon as I got into my own room, I dumped my bags on the floor, slid on some sweats, and spread out my case files on the floor. After working for three hours straight, a knock on my door made me look up from my just-finished negative case. Thalia jumped up from my bed and swung the door open.

"What is it?" She asked- almost a little forcefully- my brother. She'd always hated him, ever since he cut off her ponytail way back in second grade. He was carrying two bags of hot cheetos in one hand, and money in the other.

"Wait! Thalia, don't kill him, he has things for me." I shot up and grabbed the things from him quickly, placing them down on my bed and shoving the money in one of my piggy banks. "Thanks, Chase." He shook his head at me but cracked a smile.

"No problem, Chase." Thalia looked at me and shook her head in disappointment.

"You two are so fucking corny."

"Well, Chase siblings have to stick together." Malcolm commented, and I nodded in agreement. He turned to me. "Percy's here, by the way." I could feel my eyes widening and I almost slammed the door in his face.

"Why?"

"He said he needed to talk to you about a project." I shut my eyes and groaned as I flopped back on the bed. I just wanted one moment where the guy wouldn't completely ruin my day. Thalia excused herself, telling me she was going home, and brushing past Malcolm quickly.

"Fine, send him up."

"Alright. Listen, I need to go to the store to get some photos copied for a project. I'll be back in about an hour?"

"You're leaving me here? With him?" I almost yelled.

"It's an hour, and he's not going to try anything. Besides, you're a cheerleader, he's a football player. Just trust me, okay?" I narrowed my eyes at him and he sighed, pulling out a five from his back pocket and handing it to me. A smug smile creeped onto my face and I took the five and shoved it in my bank. Negotiations with Malcolm were my main source of income.

"Okay, you can leave now, but be back in an hour or I'll call the police and tell them that there's a rapist in our house."

"Alright, Annabeth. I'll send him up." And then he left. After his exit, it didn't take long for Percy to show up at my door. We locked eyes and I resisted the urge to glare.

"Well come in already." I said after we spent two entire minutes just staring at each other. He stepped in and I raised a hand to stop him. "Close the door." He raised an eyebrow at me.

"Are you sure about that?" I rolled my eyes at him.

"First, my parents aren't even here, so there's no problem. What we could do with a closed door, we could also do with an open door because there's no one here. Second, I would never do anything with you anyway because I'm not into heartless assholes and you're a football player, so no problem there. Third, doors are meant to be closed. I have a thing with open doors that have the potential to be closed. Fourth, yes I'm sure, it's my room." I flashed him a sarcastic smile and tapped my index finger on my knee as he closed the door. He plopped down on the floor next to me and I pulled out a journal and a pen.

"Alright, let's get this shit over with. I think we should do-"

"I'm not starting until we make an agreement." He interrupted, and I raised an eyebrow at him. "I know you hate me," he continued, "and I know that you're probably going to be dissing on me through this whole project, so here's the agreement. Agree to at least _try_ to be civil to each other. We can still hate each other when we're not working on this, but if we're going to be yelling at each other when we're trying to work on this, we'll never get it done. Can we do that?" I bit my lip in frustration and glared at him. He was right.

"Fine, whatever." He held out his hand for me to shake and I grabbed it firmly. "I still hate you." I stated as I pumped his hand up and down.

"I hate you too." We glared at each other, and then I broke our staring contest.

"Alright, let's get started."

* * *

**AN: I have nothing against gays or lesbians, so I hope no one took that comment that I made in the wrong way. Just wanted to address that. Alright, well, drop me a review, and maybe tell me your favoite quote from the chapter? I love hearing what people's favorite parts were. Till next time- ShyGal**


	4. Chapter 4: Vanilla Bean Bonding

**Encounters**

**AN: You guys! I finished Exceptions! And it was perfect! If you haven't checked it out, PLEASE check it out. Pwease? Also, if you're wondering, I've started writing for the sequel, so yeah. Anyway, thanks for your reviews, every review matters, even the bad ones. Enjoy. **

**Percy**

"Alright, let's get started." Was the sentence that started it all. It was all going okay at first. I'd been watching quietly as she arranged her cheetos in order from tallest to shortest, then began eating them starting from the tallest. I had smiled at the fact that I'd just figured out she was a control freak. I mean, she made it pretty clear that was the only way she'd be eating the cheetos, and any other way was down right sinful. She'd almost smiled at me. Almost. And then, everything went down hill.

I was learning things about her. I mean, she wasn't that horrible. She actually wasn't horrible at all. She was such a mystery to me, which made me curious, which made me want to decipher what exactly made her up. I had my mother's curiosity.

I got my looks from my dad. I was pretty thankful for that, too, considering the fact that he'd vanished my life way before I could even comprehend what was happening. I mean, it wasn't his fault. He didn't choose to die. It was the plane.

If I didn't have something that tied me back to my dad, I think I'd just lose it. I mean I really missed him. I never really got to know him like a little kid should get too. We never played catch in the backyard, or picked out puppies together, or anything else that remotely came with having a father. But whenever I looked in the mirror, what I saw held me together.

It's not that I was cocky. I wasn't. In fact, some people might find me insecure despite the fact that I had girls chasing me everywhere I went. But I looked just like Dad. And that made me feel hopeful for the future because from what Mom told me, he was a great man, and if he could be one, then so could I. Knowing I was practically an exact replica of him brightened me up somehow. I could grow up to be like him. I could have a good future, get a good education, find a good girl who would follow me into a good life and a good marriage. My life had the potential to be good.

Everything I did revolved around my Dad. I joined football because of him. I tried extra hard in my classes because of him- and that was a hard task considering I had dyslexia and ADHD. Everything I did, led back to him. And it pained me that I never really got to connect with him. But sometimes, that's the way things have to be.

"So, I think we should do Artemis and Apollo." I'd suggested, to which I got no response except her eyes glancing up to meet mine, and her stuffing her face with hot cheetos. I was almost surprised. The girl could eat more than a football player, and I would know because I am one. It wasn't that she was fat, she definitley wasn't that. She was in great shape and everything. But I'd never seen anyone other than my mom eat that much. I'm pretty sure if I'd said that out loud, she would've taken offence, but really, it was not meant to be taken that way. I admired a girl who wasn't scared of what others thought of her.

"Nope. That one's already taken, I asked Ms. Raymond as soon as I could." She'd responded, pouring the remaining cheetos back in the bag and then getting up, grabbing a small little pouch that contained cleansing wipes. She then proceeded to wipe off her fingers one by one, and I smirked because the action just supported my control freak theory. She met my eyes and raised an eyebrow, stacking her curls in a bun on the top of her head.

"What?" I shook my head quickly and leaned back against her rug. I heard a creak that could only mean she was on her bed.

"I don't like not knowing things, Jackson. Tell me." I sat up and gave her a look.

"Last time I checked, I'm not under oath, I don't have to tell you anything." She paused with her mouth half open then clamped it shut and leaned her chin against a pillow. And I was shocked. It was the first time that coffee shop girl hadn't had a comeback ready in hand.

Ever since the first day that I came to Goode, we'd been at each other's throats. Going through mornings was a living hell. I woke up squinting into the sunlight and dreading the fact that I'd have to see her face again first thing I walked into school. When either of us saw the other in English, we'd glare so hard at each other that any normal person would cower. English was a pain, History was a pile of shit, and Biology was like getting shot through the head. All in all, both of our days were full of glares and distasteful glances at the other, and when we absolutely had to talk, insults spilled out of our mouths like vomit.

"I forgot. Most people don't think I'm a bitch." She stated quickly as she shot up and towards her computer, opening up her browser and typing something into the search bar. "They willingly give me information because believe it or not, I'm not a horrible person. I mean, I don't know why I'm explaining myself to you, but hey, why the hell not?"

"You're not a horrible person?" I replied sarcastically, getting up and wandering around her room. I stopped at a bookshelf and stared at the covers.

"Stop being such a smartass, that's my area of expertise." The reply was so bland that I busted out laughing without meaning to, and whipped around to find her swiveling around in her computer chair.

"So, I'm guessing that this not knowing thing is bothering you." She shot me a glare as I held a smirk, knowing that I had ticked her off.

"This isn't part of the research project, you know." She said, trying to deflect my truthful statement.

"Well, we haven't exactly picked who we're doing the project on. And also, you're ticked off."

"I'm always ticked off when it comes to you."

"Keep it up, and you won't ever find out what I was smirking about." She pressed her lips together and turned away from me. After a couple of silent moments of me staring at her bookshelf, I spoke. "You're a control freak." She looked up from her computer screen and got up, making her way towards me.

"Hmm?"

"That's what I was laughing about. You're a control freak." I leaned down to analyze the bottom half of her bookshelf and met one particular book title that caught my eye.

"Well, I guess everyone learns that about me eventually." She stated simply, and I was surprised when I didn't hear a bite in her voice. I grabbed the book that I'd been staring at and slowly dislodged it from the rest of the books on the shelf.

"_Dare You To_. I didn't peg you as a romance type of girl." I said as I flipped through the pages quickly.

"So what if I am? It's not a crime, is it?" She shot back in a defensive manner.

"No, but with the way you build yourself up to be so badass, I wouldn't take you as the type of girl that likes to read sappy romance novels."

"Everyone has their guilty pleasures. Mine just happens to be romance novels." She paused and I looked up to meet her face. "Wait. How do you know anything about this book?" I tried not to burst into flames in front of her as she grabbed the book from my hands and held it to her chest. After a moment of silence, she bursted out laughing. I hated to say it because she was laughing at my expense, but it wasn't a horrible sound. I preferred her laughing to dumping crap on me. And that's when I realized that this was the most civil we'd been since we met.

"You read romance novels?"

"It was one time." Her laugh continued after my response. I figure she'd say something about how I couldn't read books like that because I was a football player, but instead she shot something else at me.

"Jocks usually aren't smart. Their muscles feast on their brains." She replied, quoting the book with ease and sending me a smirk that wasn't wry or filled with hate. I shook my head at her and resisted the urge to smile at the fact that right now, neither of us were yelling at the other. Her eyes weren't set in a glare, and they didn't show any sign of scrutiny. They were light.

"Isn't that stereotyping?" And that's where I screwed up. Her face fell, her eyebrows came together, and her lips pressed.

"Yeah, but the difference is that I was just pulling a quote from the book, while when you did that at Starbucks, it was completely genuine." And then without another word, she whipped around and headed back to her computer. "Come on, pull up a chair and bring your things." She ordered flatly, typing at the speed of lightning. I pulled my bag closer and pulled the chair out next to her.

"Annabeth, I was trying to apologize yesterday. I-"

"We should do Athena." She interrupted, pointing her finger at the screen. I watched as she attempted to scratch off the black nail polish coating her fingernail. I pulled out my computer from my bag and opened it up, starting it up and looking back at the screen.

"Goddess of wisdom and war." She commented, and I swear I almost heard some type of emotion in her voice. I typed my password into my computer and turned back to her.

"What about Poseidon?" She continued trying to chip at her nail polish and I, unthinkingly, snatched her hand away, dropping it by her thighs then reverting my attention back to my computer. She glanced up at me and gave me a look.

"What was that?"

"Stop chipping your nails, okay? It's bad." I went up to my home screen and scowled at the fact that I couldn't get my office word open. I cussed under my breath and repeated the process, but it was no use. There was something wrong with it.

"You need to open task manager." I looked up and glanced at her, confused and perplexed as to what she was talking about. She rolled her eyes at me then leaned over me, going to my start button and opening up a thousand applications at once. I watched in a daze as she typed a million things into word bars. My computer lit up and after a minute, she opened up google chrome and downloaded something. She leaned back in her chair and spun around, tucking her knees into her chest and pushing up the black framed glasses that were perched on her nose. After a couple minutes of me sitting there wondering what the hell she just did, she leaned over me again and clicked on multiple things.

"You have a Kuma Satra virus. I downloaded a cheap antivirus software, but it won't last long so you need to gather up some money to get a good software, otherwise you can kiss your computer goodbye." I stared at her as she leaned on her elbows and stared at the screen like nothing had happened. "So anyway, Athena?"

"What was that?" I asked after a beat of silence from both of us.

"What was what?"

"That thing you just did. I didn't know you were good with computers."

"Yeah, well you don't know anything about me anyway. All I did was reboot it, no big deal. Now, about Athena-"

"Thanks, I guess?" I interrupted again. She raised an eyebrow at me and adjusted her glasses as I cleared my throat. "So, um, Poseidon? What do you think? I mean he's interesting." I watched quietly as a loading bar popped up on my computer, starting a procedure which I assumed was the removal of the virus.

"I mean... I guess. Athena and Poseidon should be fine, they definitley have ties that we can talk about. " She assured. I could tell she was still upset about the stereotype thing, and after we'd been starting to get along, I wanted nothing more than to go back and retrace my steps. "So, I think that's enough for today. I mean, we've picked our two subjects, so after this, everything else shouldn't take that long. You can go hang out in my brother's room if you want, but I think we should wrap this up." My eyebrows knit together, and I shut my computer as she removed her reading glasses and set them next to her keyboard.

"You're kicking me out?"

"Yes. My room. We're not friends." She replied quickly as she slipped on a headset and opened up a game on her computer. I smirked at the fact that Malcolm was right. Annabeth was a complete game junkie. I shoved my things in my bag, zipped it up, and then walked around her room, pausing at the bookshelf again. I viewed the objects resting on the shelf. There was a framed picture of her and Thalia, a girl I'd come to meet in Math, with Piper kissing Annabeth's cheek and Annabeth's eyes scrunched up tightly. Thalia was scowling deeply, but there was a layer of mischeif hidden in her eyes.

There was a snowglobe, a hook that held about a thousand blue and silver bows, and next to that, a small rugged owl stuffed animal.

"Don't touch that!" I heard her scream, and in half a second, she was lunging herself at me and I was being knocked over on the ground. We landed with a thud, knocking heads because of the impact and almost groaning in unison.

"Ow, what the hell?" I asked as I held my head in my hands.

"I thought you were touching Tartar Sauce." She muttered as she rubbed her temple and went to get up. Unfortunately, my limbs were still trying to recover from the fall, and so she ended up tripping on them and falling on me yet again.

"Not that I mind having a hot girl on me, but this is the second time, and you're a cheerleader. Isn't this like burning your soul somehow? It's like a vampire touching holy water. And what the hell is Tartar Sauce?" I replied through a groan because her elbow had jabbed into my stomach and it was not a nice feeling in the slightest bit.

"Well does it look like I'm bursting into flames? You're acting like I'm trying to do this on purpose, I wanna get off you asap, I hate you remember? And Tartar Sauce is the name of my owl. Don't touch him." She said trying to crawl off of me, but in the process she shifted her knee up so it was near my crotch and I froze, my eyes widening as I realized what would happen if she moved any further. I tried to wriggle my hand from underneath me but it was pinned.

"Don't move." She gave me a look as she leaned on her left arm, letting out a breath of exesperation and shooting me a glare.

"And why not?"

"Because if you do, you'll hit my happy place, and then my happy place won't be as happy as it could be if you hadn't hit it, understand what I'm trying to say?" Her eyes widened slightly and then quickly shut, as if wishing that she wasn't in this position would magically pull her out of it. "Give me a second." I muttered as I managed to unpin my arm and wriggle my way out from underneath her. I let out a breath of relief as we backed away from each other succesfully. "And what the heck kind of name is Tartar Sauce?" I asked standing up.

"Give me a break, I was three, alright?" She paused, and then opened her mouth. I knew that whatever was about to come out of it would be some type on insult, so I grabbed her hand and dragged her out of the room and down the stairs before she could yell at me for being an arse.

"What are you doing?!" I ignored her shout of protest and shoved her in my car quickly, jumping in and driving away before she could try to get out. "This is considered kidnapping!"

"No one's stopping you from jumping out, sweetheart. Go ahead." I replied, almost unsure of what I was trying to do. "I've only known you for four days and I'm already sick of our arguments."

"If you don't wanna argue, you don't have to talk to me." She all but yelled while staring out the window.

"Didn't we agree to be civil while we were doing this project?"

"Well are we doing the project now?" I parked into the Starbucks lot and groaned.

"God, will you just please stop talking for five minutes? Maybe then I'd be able to get a word out of my mouth." I cringed as she shifted in her seat to shoot me a look that could kill. Instead of yelling at me, though, she stared down at her phone screen and frowned.

"Malcolm's not picking up his phone. I'm getting worried, he said he'd be back in an hour over an hour ago." She mumbled under her breath and I watched quietly as she shoved her phone in her pocket and then looked up at me expectantly. "Well? Are you gonna talk? Because after what you said, I'd expect you to be spilling things out right now." I rolled my eyes at her and jumped out of the car, slamming the door almost at the exact same time she did. "Why are we here?"

"Don't question it, please? You'll find out soon enough." I said, trying not to stomp into the store. A little bell jingled as I opened the door and held it out for her, trying not to notice the fact that people were looking our way. They obviously remembered us from last time we were in here. I marched up to the register and ordered a vanilla bean frappe, shoving a ten at the lady and rubbing my forehead. After she handed the coffee to me, I dragged Annabeth over to a booth and slid in on one side, placing the coffee in the middle and jamming an extra straw in the cup.

"I don't like Starbucks." Annabeth stated after a moment. I cocked an eyebrow and clamped my hands together.

"Well tough luck Princess, we're not moving till you drink some." I replied in a bored tone as I leaned on my elbows for support. I met her eyes and much like last time we were in here, noticed they were storming on the inside.

"Why?" I let out a breath and shook my head.

"Do you really have to question everything? It's my peace offering. I'm sorry for being an ass to you the other day. I was having a bad day. But, you're my best friend's sister. We're going to have to lern to tolerate each other, otherwise we'll make Malcolm unhappy, and as I can see, you care about him, so I'm guessing you don't want that." I saw the hesitation in her eyes and then smiled as I heard the almost inaudible sigh of defeat.

"Yeah. Okay." She muttered quietly. She looked up at me and swept her fingers behind her ears, playing with a small curl hanging out from her bun. "I'm sorry for holding such a grudge on you. I should've let it go. Then again, I never do anything I should do." She smirked at me and I couldn't help but shake my head at her. "I accept your apology, but I don't accept your form of apologizing. Starbucks sucks."

"I accept your apology as well, Chase #2, but Starbucks does not suck. Have you ever tried it?"

"No, but why should I? It's so fattening anyway." My jaw dropped open as she finished her statement.

"Coming from the girl that ate an entire bag of cheetos in the first thirty minutes of our study session. Come on, you're fishing for excuses. Try it."

"No."

"Try it."

"No."

"Please?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"No. And please fix your hair, I can't tolerate things being out of place. I mean I get that it's your natural style, but there's a piece that's just not working out well."

"I'll fix it if you take a sip." I challenged. Her eyebrows shot up, and she instantly grabbed the cup, taking a long swig of the drink. Her eyes screwed shut and she yelped as I laughed at her.

"Ow. Brain freeze." She informed as I ran my fingers through my hair, waiting for her nod of aprooval. After she gave it to me, I dropped my hands and grabbed the drink from her, sipping out of the other straw. As soon as our buisness was finished, we headed back to my car with her trying to subtly drink out of the cup, and me holding in my smirk.

"So do you like it?" I asked, knowing full an well that she did.

"Hm." Was her only response, to which I laughed loudly. She turned in her seat and stared at me, opening up her mouth to speak. "So we need to set ground rules. Just because we've apologized doesn't mean we can be all buddy buddy all the time. You're still a football player, I'm still a cheerleader. All the same rules apply." I nodded and she turned back in her seat.

"So what's with Tartar Sauce?" The car was silent for a while until there was a throat clearing, and then a sharp intake of breath.

"My mom gave it to me a while back when I was small. It's basically the only thing I have of hers."

"What happened to her? Did your parents get divorced? Malcolm never really told me much about you guy's mom." More throat clearing.

"Um, no. She.. passed away when we were small. She was in an airplane crash." I almost slammed the wheel when she said that. Luckily we were at a red light, so it wouldn't have made a difference. I turned to her quickly.

"Really? My dad was in an airplane crash too." And I guess the reason I mentioned that was because, well, could it really only be a coincidence that both of our parents died in a flight? "Where was she flying?"

"I don't remember." She admitted. "It was a really long time ago. Your dad was in a crash too?"

"Yeah. It was a long time ago too." I replied, parking into her drive way. And I was calm. I mean things were going pretty well between us. When we walked up to her door, things were still fine, even though I could see the troubled look on Annabeth's face as she noticed that Malcolm still wasn't there. But then things changed as soon as the door was swung open, and I met a woman with dark brown hair and cold dark pits as eyes. This, I assumed, was the Chase's stepmother. Malcolm absolutely hated her, and judging from the way Annabeth looked at her, so did she. Annabeth turned to me almost as soon as the door opened and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Percy, this is Helen... My stepmother."

* * *

**AN: I know, this is like mega short. I just don't want to rush everything. Alright you guys, like my other story, there are going to be somethings you guys are going to have to piece together. Let the guessing begin. As usual, comment your favorite quote or part from this chapter, and also, try to piece up the little mystery as to where Malcolm went, or the airplane thing- which i'm pretty sure no one will get till later on in the story. Like a lot later. Alright, well drop me a review because it makes me happy, and hey, why not make someone else happy today? Till next time- ShyGal**


	5. Missing Brothers & Horrible Stepmothers

**Encounters**

**AN: Adressing Reviews: Javaxe 1: I know right? Starbucks is my life. **

**Natz 14: Good guess, and thanks, hope this was soon enough **

**Elleibarra: Whenever I see your username I think of ellie goulding lol. One of your guesses was correct. **

**Percyrocks: Thank you Thank you Thank you, it does make me really happy. **

**son of all: Well the wait is over.**

**Frosted Rock: don't worry, they won't by the end of the story**

**Knowlife90: I'm sorry, I know it was too short. **

**Zammy 987: Your wish is my command :P**

**jordycat2000: yeah, I guess they are. **

**Alright, well wanted to let you guys know that the sequel to Exception sis up and running, so check that out when you have a chance! Alright, let's get it. **

**Annabeth**

I hated her. And not just like a regular kind of hate. You know, some people say they hate certain foods, or hate a certain sports team. That's normal hate. That's not what I felt for Helen. Not in the slightest bit. Hate is not a strong enough word. I absolutely despised her, I had no mercy. I didn't hate her to the point where I wouldn't help her if she was dying- that's just cruel and brutal-, but I wanted nothing to do with her, ever. When I graduated, I wouldn't look back. I mean I'd miss my Dad because he was great, but my hate for Helen overpowered my love for Dad. The lady was absolutely insane.

Way back when I was an innocent little toddler without any actual way of remembering things, Dad informed Malcolm and I that Mom had died in a plane crash. I didn't really get it at first, I thought she was going to come back, but then about two years after I was informed of the news, I saw my Dad talking to a woman at a coffee shop, and that's when everything sunk in.

I didn't really get why Dad went for Helen, she was literally the worst. And it wasn't a gradual thing, I mean one day we were all a nice happy family, and then the next, there was a woman with an engagement ring on her finger being introduced to us.

The entire marriage was shotgun, but there was no unexpected pregnancy or anything related at all. Dad said he loved her, and when you love someone, why wait? But I called bullshit so hard, and to this day, I still do. Dad just didn't look happy. At least, not as happy as he used to be with Mom. He always had this thing in his eyes that I couldn't place, and ever since Helen and Dad got married, he hasn't gotten to make one decision for the family. Whenever I asked him why he was still with Helen, he'd envelop me in his arms and let out a breath, mumbling something about how love was hard, and sometimes you had to sacrifice for the ones you loved. But I just didn't understand. How could he love her? What did he see in her other than bitchiness?

After the marriage, Helen's nice facade wasted away in less than a month. We used to be able to handle each other, but then came the day.

Malcolm and I were both deathly allergic to peanut butter. Like, just being close to it made us break out in hives. Helen was not aware of this. Dad worked at an architectural company, and Helen was the chief at our local police station. She had a very clean and respectable reputation there, and she was known as the most trusted officer there could be. I didn't know if she was manipulating people, or if she was just a good actor, but the Helen I knew was anything but trustworthy and respectable.

One day, around the time I was seven and Malcom was eight, we were left alone with Helen because Dad had a really big project in his company. We didn't have much food at the time, and so the cabinets were empty. Malcolm and I were really hungry, and we were begging Helen to make us some food. She immediatley launched for the easiest thing to make- peanut butter and jelly sandwhiches. Malcolm explained to her that we were allergic, but what did she say? She gave us a glare and then scolded us, blabbing about how we were being paranoid and stupid. Less than half an hour later, we were being rushed to the hospital- no thanks to Helen because Malcolm had to call 911 for both of us.

The most shocking part about the whole experience was that I told Dad that she forced us to eat the sandwhiches, and he just stared at his feet and defended her. Ever since then, I've hated the woman. _Hated_ her. I couldn't really express how much I hated her, but I really really did. She treated my Dad like a pile of shit, treated Malcolm and I like a pile of shit, and she had the bitchiest attitude I would ever come to know.

And she was fucking abusive. I had a scar up the left side of my torso from one time that she was cooking and 'accidentally' slashed me with a butter knife. That day, Malcolm had almost lost it. The thing was, we couldn't really turn her in for being abusive because she was the chief. No one would believe a pair of teenagers.

I missed Mom more than anything. She was so beautiful, and I never even got a chance to know her. At least Malcolm was lucky enough to remember her, I could only stare at old pictures of her and fantasize about seeing her again- which would never happen in this life time.

After I actually understood what happened to her, I threw myself into my gymnastics. That was one of the reasons I didn't really fight against Piper's request for me to try out for cheerleading with her. Dad told me that when I was small, Mom was the one who wanted me to be in gymnastics, and I couldn't stop doing it after she'd passed. It kept me closer to her.

So after hearing all that, I'm sure you can imagine how not at all ready I was to introduce Helen to the guy that I had just maybe started to get along with. I mean, he'd given up a peace offering, and although I'd never admitt it, it was pretty delicious even though it was ridiculously priced. I didn't want Helen's disgusting attitude to ruin our whole semi- friendly mood.

But, I had to introduce them, otherwise Helen would yell at me and I'd have another bruise on my arm for Dad to ignore. So I reluctantly spit words out of my mouth, trying not to sound distasteful but failing miserably. Helen gave me a tight smile as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Hi Mrs. Chase, I'm Percy, Malcom's best friend. I recently moved here, and I have an english assignment with your daughter which might require me to be over quite a bit. I hope that's not an inconvenience for you."

"Oh, not at all. You seem like a very charming young lad. Annabeth, I need to talk to you in the kitchen." She bit back. And then she whisked herself away without another word. I hated how fake she acted towards everyone. I rolled my eyes at her moving figure and turned back to Percy. He was trying to stand still and had an embarrassed look on his face.

"Your mom's kind of intimidating." I scoffed.

"That lady is not my mom at all, don't even think about relating her to Mom. You can go wait upstairs if you need to." I replied calmly, trying not to sound offensive or rude. I padded towards the kitchen and let out a breath. "Yes, Helen?" She turned to me from the island in the kitchen and motioned for me to come closer. I had a bad feeling about the whole thing.

"We got a package from your school. You're going to a cheer tournament in Florida?" I groaned internally. Shit. Helen was never supportive of my cheerleading or Malcolm's spot on the football team. That's why I never told her anything. I did, in fact, have a tournament in Florida that I was really extremely excited about. It was really exclusive, and each member had to find their own way there. Malcolm was going with me because we were allowed one plus one to take for free entry into the tournament. We were going to drive all the way there and back.

"Yeah. It's in like a month. Fees are already payed, Malcom and I are driving there." She arched an eyebrow and gave me a smile that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

"Driving there? I don't think so. We got this package yesterday, your Dad and I talked it over. We got you tickets." I stilled and stared at her confused.

"Tickets?"

"For a flight." She stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"A _flight_? What? Why would you do that, I'm terrified of flying, you know that!" A look of anger flashed across her face, but at the moment I couldn't give two fucks. Both Dad and Helen knew I was scared of flying, how could he agree to this?

"I'm not letting you and that hog you call a brother waste my hard earned money on hundreds of gallons of gas just so you won't have to fly. Stop being a brat."

"Are you kidding me? We weren't even using your money! Malcolm has funds that he had stored away, he was going to use his own money to pay for gas!"

"I don't care what you have to say. Either you accept the flight, or you won't go." And that was that. I shut my eyes and held my breath, trying to avoid from saying something that would piss her off. Instead, I whipped around and marched up the stairs, trying desperatley to hold myself together. As soon as I was in my room, I slammed the door in the quietest way possible and leaned against it, trying to control the anger and pent up frustration wanting to be released. I rubbed my eyes with my right hand and squeezed the bridge between my nose.

"Are you okay?" I jumped at Percy's voice and pressed myself up against the door momentarily. He was sitting on my bed, looking stiff as a board. _You vowed to never look weak_, I reminded myself. I let out a breath and nodded as I fingered the necklace around my neck. Way back when, Mom had tons of jewelry in a big chest in the master bedroom. One day, when Helen was at work, Dad gave it to me. Now it's in my closet, but I always wear the Chase nameplate necklace mom used to have.

"Yeah. What are you doing up here?" I asked as I shut myself in the closet and slid an oversized shirt over my head. I opened the doors back up then shut the closet doors, grabbing my computer and sitting down on my bed.

"I don't particularly want to be alone, waiting for your brother in an empty bedroom." He admitted sheepishly.

"So you thought the next best thing was to be in his sister's room, on her bed, while she's changing clothes?" He rolled his eyes at me as I fixed my reading glasses on and turned my computer on.

"You're making it sound worse than it actually is. I like being around people, and, I mean, maybe we should get to know each other. We are going to see each other a lot." Talking about Malcolm made the fact that he still wasn't here spring back in my mind. I quickly pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed his number. Thankfully, he picked up.

"Malcolm! Where are you?" I could hear him panting over the phone and my nerves wracked.

"I told you, I'm at the store." A muffled voice from the back made my eyebrows scrunch together.

"The store my ass, what's going on? Where have you been? You said you'd only be gone for an hour." The panting was quieting down, but I was still trying to figure who the voice was.

"There's been a lot of traffic, Anna. Please, trust me?"

"Why are you lying to me? What's really going on? Where are you?" There was a long pause over the line, and I shut my eyes, trying to forget Percy was here.

"I have to go Annabeth, I'll see you at home." And then before I could get a word out, he hung up and the line went dead. I sat there with the phone in my hands for what seemed like forever.

"Is he okay?" I looked up at Percy and nodded, confused and upset, and wanting to punch something. "Where is he?"

"I don't know. Apparently he's at the store still."

"Are you okay?" He asked with concern. I shut my computer and slid it on my bed stand, playing with my hands and fixing my glasses.

"Yeah." I lied. He raised an eyebrow and laid down on my bed, staring at the ceiling.

"For some reason, I feel like you're lying."

"Ha, wonder why." I answered back sarcastically, and after a beat of hesitation, laid down next to him. Why shouldn't I be able to lay down? It was my bed after all. "You know, now I can say that I've had a guy in my bed."

"Ha ha, very funny." He responded with a smirk. "But seriously. Is there something wrong? I know we don't really know each other, but if there's something wrong, I'll listen." I shut my eyes and bit my lip quietly.

"I just have a lot going on right now. I'm worried about Malcolm, but apparently he's fine or something, and now I have to fly to Florida." I said without opening my eyes.

"Scared of flying?" I nodded and rested a hand on my forehead.

"Ever since the thing with my mom. I haven't gone on a flight since then. I just don't want to even be in that situation."

"Why are you flying to Florida?"

"I have a cheer tournament there in about a month." There was a pause, and then I heard him open his mouth.

"You know... I don't think cheerleaders are that bad, I don't see why all the football guys hate you people." My eyes shot open and without thinking, I covered his mouth with my hand, not even caring that I was half on top of him. I'm pretty sure I looked like a lunatic, but I didn't care. His eyes grew wide and for a second, I let myself admire them, catching evey flick of a differing color with my scrutinizing gaze. There were golds, and ambers, and something else I couldn't describe off the top of my head, but it was conflicting to see all the colors come together in such an entrancing way. I mean the guy wasn't unattractive. I snapped out of my thoughts and met his gaze, noting that his eyes were now alight with mischeif and smugness.

"Are you insane? If you get caught saying that your whole team will slaughter you. Cheerleaders and football players do not mix. Our interaction for the project is pushing it, a cheerleader and a football player being friends is considered a misdemeanor, and under no circumstances can a cheerleader or football player date a person from the opposing team. It's a felony, people will kill you." I uncovered his mouth, but kept leaning over him to emphasize my point. He had a smirk on his face that just screamed cocky.

"You were checking me out." He stated, disregarding my small lecture about his confession of not hating cheerleaders. I bit the insides of my cheeks to keep from blushing.

"Was not. And you know, I think you're the last person who should be accusing me of doing said action considering the fact that you called me hot earlier today, and you touched my bra."

"You were too, and I already apologized for touching your bra, it was an accident! By the way, I like the position we're in." I rolled my eyes at him as his smirk deepened, making his dimples stand out against his cheeks.

"I was not checking you out. That would imply that I was looking at you as a whole. I was just looking at your eyes."

"So you admitt you find my eyes attractive? And if you want to be able to fully check me out, you could've just asked."

"No, and even if I did I wouldn't tell you because you're a football player. And why would I want that? Pig."

"Well why not? I'd admitt it. And I'm just screwing with you. Not literally of course."

"You so would not admitt that my eyes are-"

"I find your eyes attractive. They're really beautiful, and unique." I could feel my mouth pop open slightly in shock. Did he not listen to anything? Did he have common sense? Where was the logic?

"Are you flirting with me? I'm your best friend's sister!"

"I'm not flirting with you! I'm just saying that your eyes are pretty. Can't I give you a compliment?"

"I'm a cheerleader."

"But why does that even matter?" He inquired, and I stayed silent as I laid back down. "Why does it matter if I'm a football player and you're a cheerleader? We should get to be friends, we should get to hang out with each other. This isn't fair for any of the two teams. What if someone from the cheerleading team really liked someone from the football team? Would they just shut up about it?"

"No one from either team would ever put themselves in that position anyway." I muttered.

"Because they feel like they have restrictions." He defended. "I just don't see the point. Why is it this way? I mean it's not like I could date you anyway, you're my best friend's sister, but we should at least have a say in who we can be friends with. How did this even start?"

"No one knows. It was like twenty years ago, and apparently some football player screwed over a cheerleader, and then the cheerleaders took revenge and now we all hate each other." He sat up in the bed quickly.

"Are you kidding? That's ridiculous! So both teams are feuding over something no one remembers it's pathetic, honestly."

"You act like I haven't figured that out already, Percy. It doesn't matter if what we're fighting about is stupid. What matters is that if anyone from either team breaks the unspoken rule, they get kicked off. Who would ever want to risk not being able to be part of something that has to do with what they love? That's why nobody fights against the rule, we don't want to give up something that we enjoy doing." And that shut him up. He leaned back on the bed and continued staring at the ceiling. "So tell me more about the tournament." He said after some time.

"Well, I have to fly there and I really really don't want to. I hate flying."

"Understandable, so do I. Continue."

"And the thing was, Malcolm and I were going to drive there together, but now Helen has decided that we should fly, and I'm pretty sure Malcolm is going to be just as freaked out about flying as I am." He nodded and I glanced over at him. A piece of his hair was sticking up at a differing angle than the rest of his disheveled hair. "Fix your hair." I spilled out instantly. He gave me a quizzical look and then reached up to fix his hair.

"So what's so bad about Helen anyway?"

"She's a bitch. She's just a horrible bitch, and if you hang around here long enough, you'll understand." He laughed and I smiled at the ceiling. I mean, I guess this was good. We couldn't really be all friendly with each other because of the feud, but at least we weren't at each others' throats. He really wasn't _that_ bad. My smile disappeared as my thoughts turned back to Malcolm. Where the hell was he?

"Stop worrying, I'm sure he's fine. Malcolm knows how to handle himself." He assurred.

"It's just he sounded... weird on the phone. And I could've sworn I heard someone in the background. I feel like something's wrong with him, or maybe he's in danger." Because at the moment, all I could imagine were bad things. I should've been talking to Thalia about these things, not him, but right now I was too busy blabbing to even think about calling her.

"I know why you're worrying." He stated matter of factly. He scooted closer to me and gave me a sincere look. "But Malcolm is fine. You're not going to lose him. I'm sure he's just off being a wild teenager, and he'll be back in the early morning hours. He's not going to leave you. He'll still be here for you when you wake up in the morning. He's not going anywhere." I sat still, initiating a staring contest between the two of us. How could he know what I was thinking? How could he know how I felt? After what felt like hours, I broke my gaze.

"I care about him a lot." I said quietly. "He might be annoying and stupid, and sometimes a manwhore, but he's my brother." He laughed and shook his head at me.

"I'm sure he cares about you too. Don't worry so much. He knows how to fend for himself." After some beats of silence, he looked around my room and then back at me.

"You should leave now." I declared, stretching my arms above my head and locking eyes with him intently. "I'm getting tired, and I definitley don't want you in here when I fall asleep. Go to my brother's room and crash in there if you need to."

"Maybe I'll stay in here just to tick you off." He said, getting up from my bed.

"Then maybe I'll accidentally kick you in the nutsack. Welcome to the Chase family. Night."

"Night."

* * *

Malcolm was home the next morning, and you can bet your ass I interogated him till it physically hurt to speak. When I saw him in the morning, something was off. He smelled like a familiar scent, maybe pine or incense, but I knew I'd definitley smelled it before. I'd marched into his room as soon as I was up and dressed in my cheer uniform, and I was more than reliefed to see that he was sleeping on the top bunk of his bed because Percy was occupying the bottom.

"Where the hell have you been? I've been worried sick about you, you said you were going to the store to get groceries." He looked tired, but I was just glad he was okay. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held him close as soon as he was on the ground, and honestly, I couldn't care less if I'd woken him up.

"I was just out, Anna. Don't worry I'm fine, it's no big deal." I pulled back from our hug and spotted a bruise at the base of his jawline. It was red purple, and pretty noticeable.

"What the fuck happened here? When did you get this bruise?"

"Will you stop cussing?" I raised an eyebrow and ran my thumb over the bruise, pressing lightly, and noting that Malcolm didn't wince in the slightest.

"Will you stop avoiding the question? I've been cussing since I could talk." He ran his hands through his shaggy, overgrown hair and rubbed his eyes. I knew this technique. He was trying to distract me, but I knew for a fact that Malcolm couldn't lie to me if he was looking at me directly. I grabbed his shoulders and forced his face towards mine. "Where did you get this bruise?" His nose scruched up slightly for less than a second and I knew before he even started speaking that whatever was about to come out of his mouth was complete and utter bullshit. Malcolm and I both had the same lying give away, we always scrunched up our noses when we were about to lie.

"I ran into a pole." He answered unconvincingly.

"Really dude? That's the best you can do?" Percy asked from the bed. Malcolm shot him a glare.

"Malcolm, where were you, what's going on?"

"Anna please. It's nothing. I just wanted to have some time to myself. Don't worry about me, just let it go." He broke away from my grasp and tossed his shirt over his shoulder, throwing on an old camp shirt and covering it with a flannel.

"Why won't you talk to me?"

"Why won't you trust me?" He shot back, and I can't say I wasn't shocked. My phone dinged, signaling me that my ride was here, and after a cold stare between my brother and I, I marched down stairs and out the front door. I jumped into the passengers seat of Thalia's car and strapped myself in, greeting Piper who was in the back, also wearing her cheer uniform.

What the hell was wrong with Malcolm? I just wanted to know he was okay. He'd been gone all night yesterday, I didn't understand what his problem was.

"Malcolm's acting weird." I spoke out loud, turning down the music blaring from Thalia's radio.

"Yeah? How?" Piper asked from the back.

"He was gone all night last night, and when I asked him where he went, he told me not to worry about it and to let it go."

"Maybe he's just being a teenager." Thalia offered, repeating what Percy had said yesterday. I shook my head and leaned back against the seat as we reached the school parking lot.

"But Malcolm and I tell each other everything. We're really close, and now he's just shutting me out. I don't understand."

"You're not going to lose him." She assured me, again, repeating what Percy had said yesterday.

"Yeah, well I'm not so sure. I don't know what's going on with him, or where he went, but I don't like it." I finished as Thalia parked the car and turned the engine off. And that was that. That Friday came and went like most Fridays, Percy and I bickering- although less so now that we were on good terms-, math class sucking, the marching band being amazing, and our football team stomping the opposing team. The only thing that changed was what came after the game.

After most games the cheerleaders are pissed off because they had to spend the last four hours cheering for an organization that they hate. So there was that. Every year, the cheerleaders have a lock-in on our one free saturday for the entire season. It's actually pretty fun, and we all sleep in the bandhall because it's the biggest room in the school other than the sweaty gyms. Now let me make it clear that this lock-in is solely for cheerleaders.

Our cheer coach, Ms. Lavor, gathered us up after practice and instead of addressing us only, she addressed the football players as well.

"As you all know, both teams on the field right now have yearly lock-ins, with the cheerleading lock-in in the first semester, and the football lock-in in the second. Both the football coach and I are fully aware of the long lasting feud between these two teams, and so this year, we've decided to try to make amends by joining the two lock-ins to make one."

"Wait," Rachel cut in from the back, "You mean to tell me that we're going to have to spen twenty four hours with the football players? In the same building?"

"This lock-in, unlike the others, is fully mandatory for all members of both teams. There will be team and trust building exercises, but also what you would expect at the normal lock-in for both teams. We are tired of this useless fighting, and we'd be fools if we didn't at least try to fix it. Next Saturday, you all better be here, or else there will be consequences. You're dismissed."

And as you can imagine, everyone protested.

* * *

**AN: I don't know how to feel about this. I tried to make it longer, but I really wanted to get this update out to you guys and I'm ultra decked with homework right now. I'm sorry if this royally sucks. Anyway, can anybody see the start of some major plot points? Anybody? Leave me your guesses, and also let me know where you think Malcolm was the night before! Let me know what your favorite quote or part from this chapter was, and I might give you a spoiler for upcoming chapters. Also, check out my new story, the sequel to Exceptions. Please drop me a review because those things really do matter to me, and I'm aiming for at least ten for this chapter, so hopefully you guys can make that happen. Alright, I'll stop typing now, love you guys, till next time- ShyGal**


	6. Bruises: Physical and Emotional

**Encounters**

**AN: Guys, I'm so so sorry I didn't update in forever, finals were absolutely brutal. I wish I could say it's going to get better, but they're not really. I have band camp all of this week, one week off, and then two weeks at a debate camp, which means that if I update early, it'll be next week-hopefully. Anyway, addressing reviews starting from first to last. **

**Javaxe1: You're welcome! And thanks, I really worked hard on it. Malcolm was not partying or in a fight club, although those guesses were great. I think you might figure out part of it this chapter though. **

**son of all: Aw thanks! That was one of my favorite parts to write too! There's going to be a bit more of that this chapter, so I hope you like it. **

**the apricot: Thanks a bunch! Here's your update**

**percabeth9: Thanks! Hopefully in the later chapters it'll get better. **

**Awesome TooAwesome: Here!**

**pipergrace983: I don't plan on it!**

**elleibarra: I'm not at liberty to answer your review as it might give away a plot point for later times, so I'm not going to say yes, but I'm also not going to say no because if I say either, it'll eliminate other possibilities. But... You're kind of on the right track. Kind of. **

**Knowlife90: Aw, thanks! I'm glad it did! But Malcolm hasn't been doing eiher though.**

**Frosted Rock: Thanks! I don't understand what you mean about the song, but I'm excited to write the lock in. **

**Zammy987: You're on the right track. Also, I've never had an uploading schedule, but I usually try to update every 2-3 weeks. **

**hiddeninthelibrary: Oh, if you like the enemies plot, you should definitley check out my other story Exceptions, it's already completed so you wouldn't need to wait for updates, and it's not exactly the same plot, but it does start with them hating each other. **

**Alright, that's about it, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Leggo.**

**Percy**

You know those times when you go to a grocey store, or the mall, or any public location, and you see a little kid throwing a tantrum and just making a scene? And then their parents, try as they might, can't seem to calm the kid down, and it just gets worse and worse and worse? Once, when I was at the grocery store with my mom and we watched something like that occur, my mom had just looked at me, leaned over, and informed me that trying to care of a kid that was in the process of a tantrum might've been one of the hardest things to accomplish in this life time.

Now, I can honestly say that having to take care of one five year old having a tantrum is nothing compared to having to take care of a crowd of raging football players that have sunk to the level of a five year old. It was ridiculous. Our own captain, aka my best friend, had stormed off after we got the news that our lock-in tradition was being compromised so we could do team building exercises with the cheerleaders.

"It's just not okay! We've been doing this for years! What are we supposed to do next semester? I bet they're going to make us watch chick flicks and talk about weird things like periods and how big some guy's dick is." Charles Beckendorf, one of our line backers, stated as he let himself plop down on one of the benches in the locker room. I clamped my teeth down on my lip so hard I almost cried. I was sure if I didn't stop myself, I'd shout at everyone for being so absolutely childish about the entire situation.

"As long as the dick they're talking about isn't attached to a guy from the football team, I'm good to go." One of our other members retorted, and just when the shouts of protest had quieted down to no more than a small hum, they raised once again.

"We're going to have to deal with it you guys, there's nothing we can do." I spoke carefully, making sure to use words that wouldn't ultimately piss anyone off. Nevertheless, I got a couple wary looks from some members leaning against the locker room walls. Finally, after a couple moments of silence, Jason Grace spoke up.

"Guys, I don't think it's going to be that bad. Maybe we could actually accomplish something through this." Everyone's heads snapped up from the ground to stare at Jason. I was surprised that someone actually spoke up in a positive way instead of just bashing on the squad. However, the victory only lasted .5 seconds.

"What exactly will spending the night with a bunch of bitches accomplish? I mean we can't get in their pants, so really they're useless." Ethan Nakamura spoke from the back and all hell broke loose at that exact instance. Malcolm looked up from the ground and slammed Ethan into the lockers while Jason started yelling at the people who agreed with Ethan about how they should show some respect and grow up. In one second everyone was jumping each other, punching the first person they could find and accusing each other of being a traitor for supporting the cheerleaders. I myself, although trying to stay out of it, ended up getting hit various times in various places.

"Now you listen to me Nakamura," Malcolm started, and his voice was so deathly rugged and quiet you could hear a pin drop. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stilled as they turned their eyes to look at the captain.

"The football team may have a thing against the cheerleaders. But under _no_ circumstances, will I allow _any_ person on this damn team to start being vulgar in regards to them. My sister is part of that 'bunch of bitches', and I can assure you she'd never let you in her pants even if she could fuck around with you. I don't _ever_ want to hear anyone say anything about the cheerleaders in that way, and if I catch anyone doing it, I swear to the lord above I will personally give you what you deserve, and I won't give a fuck about the consequences. Don't you dare talk about a group associated with my sister in that way, Nakamura, or you won't be able to reproduce in the future." And then he turned around, grabbed his sports bag, and marched out of the room.

Ethan, however, didn't even move a muscle. No one did. They just stood there, shocked, or pissed, or some combination of the two.

There were rare times that Malcolm cursed in abundancy- unlike his sister who cussed at any given time. Usually, it was when he was either really passionate about something, or really really pissed. Now, I've known Malcolm for years, and I can honestly say that the only other time I'd ever seen Malcolm that mad was one time when he was ranting to me about Helen hurting Annabeth. I knew he cared deeply about his sister- although his display in his bedroom last night when she asked where he'd gone was crude- and I knew he'd do anything to make sure she was treated right, so I knew that he was really angry right now, and so I did the only thing someone should do when their closest friend storms out of a room in a furious manner. I went after him.

I took me a couple seconds to react and grab my bags so I could follow him, but when I did, I fled from the room in the quickest possible manner. As soon as I was out of the room, I stopped in my tracks, hearing Malcolm talking to someone around the corner.

"I can't keep doing this." He started, and I leaned against the outer brick wall of the locker room. Malcolm had been really distant lately, always going out at night, and always making up some phony excuses as to why he couldn't hang out. I didn't know what was up with him, but I was starting to suspect it wasn't just that he needed some alone time. I snapped out of my thoughts as a feminine voice responded to him.

"Why?" It sounded vaguely familiar, but I couldn't place where I'd heard it before.

"I feel so horribly guilty. I feel like I've committed a crime or something. I can't keep lying, and all this secrecy is starting to tear me apart from people. "

"And you don't think I feel worse? Everyone's been on my back, asking me where I've been and what's been wrong with me, do you seriously think you're the only one being negatively impacted by this... this thing that we've got going on?"

"I don't know how much longer I can keep up all these lies. You know I'm not a good liar, one day someone's gonna ask me where I've been, and why I've been missing, and I'm going to crack and bare my soul."

"And one day, I'm going to get tired of feeling bad for wanting this and _I'm_ going to crack, Malcolm. Am I not worth it to you? Is this not enough? Because if you're just using me like you do with every girl you date, I swear I'll snap you in half, I don't care if you're my-"

"I love you." There was a long pause from the female voice and I shut my eyes as I tried to hold in my shock. Malcolm, the player, the one who was known for being with girls just for physical pleasure, was in love? "God, I love you more than you can comprehend, and I'm not saying it's bad that I do. I don't regret loving you at all. You're such a blessing to me, and no I'm not using you, I wouldn't even think about it considering you'd kill me. But, I also feel like loving you is a risky thing because of who you are and what roles we play in each others lives. What we have isn't stable, you and I both know that. But if it's the only way I can get you, then it's stable enough for me. I care so much about you, you're nothing like any other girl I could ever meet. You didn't instantly fall for my charms, you hated me right from the start. You hated me more than you could ever hate anyone else in the world, and that made me want to get you to like me just so I could screw around like I do with everyone else. But obviously, that plan didn't end up too well because look where I've been for the past couple months. By _your_ side. You're 've got me hooked, and I don't plan on letting go anytime soon. But you know we can't hide what we have forever. We have to come clean, and soon. Okay?"

"I love you too." Was the only response, and though I'm sure there was some agreement involved, I couldn't tell as I couldn't see what was happening, just hear it.

I let out a breath and shifted my bag. So he had a secret girlfriend, or at least that's what I'd gotten out of the conversation. I didn't want him to think I was listening, so I pulled myself together and yelled his name. There was a moment of silence, and then shuffling feet. I rounded the corner after I thought it'd been enough time for whoever it was to run off and hide.

"Malcolm, you okay? That was a pretty big blow up back there." He squeezed the bridge between his nose and let out a breath.

"I mean, you know how I get when people talk trash about my sister. He basically implied he wanted in her pants."

"Who wanted in my pants?" We both looked up to find a blonde, perky looking cheerleader strolling up to Malcolm. Annabeth, although admittably looking nice, looked nothing like herself in her cheer uniform. The type of personality that she had- at least what I knew of her personality- clashed endlessly with the vivacious, peppy attitude a cheerleader should have, and so her look was off. From the little I knew of her, I knew that she wasn't into revealing outfits, too much makeup, or excessively girly items, like bows and glitter. Of course, right now, she had all of those things on her body. I watched quietly as she wrapped her arms around the back of Malcolm's neck and hugged him.

"Ethan Nakamura, this-"

"Ass from the football team. You're always ranting about him." Annabeth finished for him. Malcolm let out a breath and rolled his eyes at her.

"How've you been, Chase?" He asked her after he picked up his bag.

"Been better, how about you, Chase?" She retorted with a small smile, and I just knew that she was overjoyed that Malcolm was actually taking time to talk to her instead of being missing with his secret girlfriend that Annabeth had no idea existed.

"Kinda shitty, but hey, it's over now. Listen, can I ask you for a huge huge huge favor, Beth?" She raised an eyebrow at him and pulled back from their hug.

"Depends on what it is." She replied as lightning flickered in the sky and storm clouds gathered up ahead.

"A couple football players and I are going out to Wing Stop to celebrate our first win, do you think you could drive Percy home?" Now I knew for a fact that no one was going out to Wing Stop with him tonight, so obviously this was a new lie for him to go spend time with the stranger- which was what I'd decided to call the person. Her eyebrows came together and she looked from me to Malcolm.

"Why isn't he going with you then, if it's a football thing?"

"Oh, I don't feel like it anyway. I'm beat, really I am." I answered nonchalantly because even though I knew Annabeth would hate me if she found out I was covering for Malcolm, Malcolm didn't really know I was covering anyway, and so it compensated for itself. Annabeth let out a breath and pretended to examine her nails.

"Well, as long as he doesn't pee in the car, I'll take the him off your hands." She aquiesced mockingly, holding her hand out for the keys and then placing a quick kiss on his cheek, signaling for me to follow her to the car. I gave Malcolm a pat on the back and followed the bobbing blonde ponytail.

"Why are you walking so fast?" She turned around and walked backwards, her white cheer shoes scuffing against the gravel.

"Why are you walking so slow, loser?" She asked with a ridiculous grin on her face as she proceeded to do a back flip, and then a cart wheel, and then a weird hand stand move.

"Um, are you feeling all right? You seem kinda peppier than usual."

"I couldn't be better." She replied as we reached the car, and I stopped in front of her to give her a look.

"Is there something going on? You haven't yelled at or insulted me yet." She raised her chin up so she could remotely try to reach my height and I chuckled.

"You're right, I haven't. Thanks for reminding me you stupid, egotistical, arrogant, ass of a guy." She said, and even though what she was saying would sound horrible to most, I knew she was only joking by the way her eyes were crinkling on the sides. She turned suddenly, unlocking the car and jumping into the driver's seat as I rounded the car and buckled up.

"So what's going on? Did you get asked out by some guy or something?" She laughed wholeheartedly as we pulled out of the parking lot.

"Funny, you think I'm the type of girl that involves herself in petty high school relationships. Let me tell you that I've never had a high school relationship, and I don't plan on having one either. I'm a lone wolf." She leaned back in her seat as we reached a stop light. I was kind of surprised by her revelation.

"So you've never kissed a guy, or had a relationship, or anything?"

"Relationship, no. Kissed a guy? Yup. I've kissed several, don't really have to be in a relationship to kiss someone." I raised an eyebrow at her as she pressed on the gas and then paused. She was under no commitment... She only flung around.

"Oh my god. You... You're just like Malcolm! You're a player! Who would've thought Miss Annabeth Chase would've been a player."

"I am _not_ a player. But a kiss here and there never hurt anyone. Besides, all the kisses I've experienced were because of dares, spin the bottle, or seven minutes in heaven. See, a lot of people think I have time to be fooling around and having sex with everyone, but everyone forgets I'm married to my computer and video games." She replied as we pulled up outside my house. The rain above finally released and soon it started pouring. Luckily we were able to make it inside before the storm really got bad. I shut the door behind me and let out a breath, dropping my bag on the ground without a care.

"Hm. Mom, I'm home!" And then there was shuffling errupting from the kitchen. Mom appeared with a baking apron on and flour spots on her face.

"Hey PJ, how'd the game go?" She asked before her eyes set on Annabeth and her face twisted in confusion. "Who's this?" She asked at the same time Annabeth whispered, "PJ?"

"Mom, this is Annabeth, Annabeth, Mom. She's-"

"You look like one of Percy's friends." My Mom cut in, "You guys are so alike, it's crazy. His name's-"

"Malcolm. Yep, that's my older brother." Annabeth finished off with a flustered smile. I tried to keep it together, but I just wanted to break out laughing. It was the first time I'd seen that one get her panties in a knot. Mom's face flooded with recognition and she instantly wrapped her in a hug.

"Oh, I've been dying to meet you! Malcolm's told me a lot about you, about how studious you are, and how hard you work on your gymnastics, and how you can kick some serious ass when it comes to video games." Annabeth's eyes widened at my mom's cursing, and I instantly knew they'd get along great. "Oh, there's no way I'm letting you leave now, there's a flood warning, and I just made cookies! Make yourself at home." And just like that, Annabeth was trapped at our house.

* * *

"These things are absolutely amazing." Annabeth mumbled a while later as she ate one of the many cookies my mom had made. We were sitting on my bed watching _Criminal Minds_ and eating to our hearts content.

"Ah, another Chase bows down to the cooking of the Jacksons." I answered, smirking. She rolled her eyes and grabbed a napkin from the plate of cookies in front of her.

"Your mom is so nice. I love her."

"Yeah, yeah, I know, my mom's the best woman in the world, but that's not what I wanna talk about. What I wanna know is, what's got you so happy, honestly?" I watched quietly as she pulled the bow out of her hair and then let her hair tumble around her shoulders.

"So, you know Drew? The head cheerleader?" I nodded as she fiddled with the top of her cheer uniform. "Well, she's getting impeached as the captain, and honestly, I could _not_ be happier. Do you have one of Malcolm's old shirts here? I know he spends a lot of time over here, maybe he left some clothes?" I gave her a loud, dramatic sigh and stood up, signaling for her to follow me.

"Why couldn't you be happier?" I asked in regards to her confession about the head cheerleader as we walked to my closet.

"Because she's a bitch. I've been wanting to boot her off as captain for the past two years, so of course I'm ecstatic. You play assasin's creed?" She asked, grabbing a game from my wardrobe. She shrugged and set the game back down. "It's a decent game, not the best, but I'm sure I could still kick your ass at it." She stated with a smirk. I rolled my eyes at her confidence and shuffled through my closet, looking for an article of clothing belonging to Malcolm.

"Uh, I have some shorts of his, but that's about it. You wanna borrow a shirt of mine?" She made a guttural noise and groaned.

"If I have to because I don't plan on staying in this uniform overnight." I smirked at her and threw her a shirt without looking."Okay, don't look, but continue talking."

"What the fuck, you're changing here?"

"Uh, yeah, it's quick and easy." She said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. I glanced around my room as she changed and quickly turned around as soon as she gave me an okay. She stared down at the shirt like it was a foreign object.

"Problem?"

"Um. Your football shirt?" I crossed my arms over my chest and huffed. It'd become abundantly clear that Annabeth let this feud between the cheerleaders and the football players control and define every move she made.

"Annabeth, it's a shirt. Wear it. Unless you plan on walking around my house in a bra?" Her face fell and she glared at me.

"You know, we were almost getting along for a second there." She joked, and I rolled my eyes at her. "But about Drew, we have this horrible back story and I honestly can't dislike someone as much as I dislike her. She is a horrible, horrible person, and I'm so happy she has no power over us now. It's the best feeling in the.. What the fuck happened to your face?" I paused, wondering what she was talking about, but before I could react, she grabbed my arm and dragged me to the hall bathroom. I stared at my face in shock, analyzing the bruises around my jawline and near my eyes.

"Um, there was a fight in the locker room, I guess-"

"Just shush, I'll fix it." She cut off, pulling out the first aid kit from the bottom of the cabinet under the sink. She opened it up and brought out a cotton swab and some rubbing alcohol. "Okay, ready?" She asked, as she dabbed some of the liquid onto the cotton ball. I nodded quietly and stiffened as she dabbed my bruises with the cotton, rubbing up against some especially hard spots on my face.

I snapped out of my thoughts as she ran a thumb over one of the now forming bruises. She looked so concentrated in her work, she wasn't even noticing I was staring straight at her. "You got smacked hard, Jackson." She looked up at me, and I could just tell she was trying to resist a smile. And then she said something that surprised me. "You do have nice eyes, you know." Without another word, she grabbed something from the first aid kit and turned away. I blinked quietly and watched as she cautiously spread aloe on my face with her fingers, noting that once again, she was too concentrated on the task in hand to notice me.

"Thanks, I guess." She backed up and frowned at me, biting her lip thoughtfully and tugging on a strand of hair.

"You must be a bigger idiot than I thought. Were you biting your lip?" She asked as she grabbed some toilet paper and dampened it with water. I groaned and grumbled a yes her way because I had been biting my lip back at the locker room. She nodded like she knew it all along and motioned for me to come forward. I smiled as she attempted to stand on her tip toes to dab my bottom lip with the toilet paper. She had an iron grip on my chin, so hard I could feel skin tearing off.

"You need to stop this habit of yours Jackson, you'll ruin that pretty little mouth of yours." She warned with a small, smug smile.

"Don't act like you weren't biting your lip two minutes ago, Blondie." I replied as she stopped dabbing my mouth and rolled her eyes my way, subtly examining her work on my face.

"Hm. Instead of looking like you got hit with a truck, you only look like you got hit with a bike. That means I did good." She joked as she packed up the kit and shoved it under the sink. She stared at me expectantly. "You gonna open the door now? Or do you plan on staying here all night?' She asked sarcastically.

"Well, staying here all night wouldn't be all _that_ bad." I shot back, rushing to the medicine cabinet and pulling out facial wipes. I turned to her and set the wipes down by the sink as she looked up at me, confused as to what my intentions were. "You cleaned up my face, I clean up yours. Come on." She sighed and jumped up on the counter of the bathroom sink, crossing her legs over each other as I pulled out a wipe and started dabbing at her eyelids.

"I didn't even know you knew about makeup wipes, much less how to use them."

"Well, back when I was around six, my mom was hunting around for jobs whenever we were at a really rough spot in our lives. She got a job as a waitress, and so she would come home really late most nights, and she'd be too tired to wipe off her makeup, so whenever she fell asleep on the couch and had forgotten to take off her makeup, I'd wipe it off for her. If she was awake, though, I'd just help her take it off. Needless to say, I have experience with these little facial wipes."

She stayed quiet as I scrubbed the number 17- Malcom's jersey number- off of her cheek, then moved to remove the lipstick on her mouth.

"That's actually a pretty sweet thing to do." She commented lightly, trying not to move her mouth too much as I wiped off the corners and then stared at her now completely natural face. The dull light from the bathroom light above illuminated her face, making her gray eyes stand out against her tan face. I took into account how pink her lips were, how her still-damp hair was hanging loosely past her shoulders, and how her freckles gave her a sense of innocence even though she was far from it. She really was beautiful, inside and out. I mean, obviously she cared, otherwise she wouldn't have wasted her time trying to patch me up. I finished wiping off her makeup and threw the wipe away.

"Thanks." I replied, helping her down, and then we both retreated back to my room without hitting each other.

* * *

"Okay, that's not fair!" I quietly yelled at Annabeth after she'd beat me, once again, at the newest version of Call of Duty. It was around two in the morning now, and we'd been playing this game for maybe more than three hours. She wanted to stop playing a while ago, but I insisted we keep playing just so I could possibly have a chance at beating her. Well, after several hours, I found that it was impossible to beat the pretty little she devil.

"How is it not fair?" She asked through muffled laughs as the screen turned a dark red. I huffed and set my controller down.

"You practically live in video game world, you've devoted most of your life to perfecting video games, how can I compete with that?" She smiled and shoved her hair up in a bun.

"Well, it's obvious you've also spent time trying to learn how to play games, don't act like this is your first time playing any of them."

"But I'm clearly not as good as you!" She pursed her lips and held a hand up to her chin.

"Well, that's not my problem." And then she errupted in laughter again. Without waiting for her to be ready, I started a new game and started running towards her, aiming my gun at her character. "Hey! That's not fair, you cheated!"

"Well so did you!"

"What? How?"

"By being so skilled at this stupid game!" I ripped the remote away from her and threw it across the room as she curled into a ball on my bed and died of laughter.

"You are such a sore loser!" She whimpered through strained laughter as I paused the game and tried to suppress a smile. This felt so natural, so uncoordinated and spontaneous, that it just shocked me. She met my eyes, staring into the depths of my soul until she ripped them away, sat up, and held her hand out to me with a determined look on her face. I grabbed her hand and started the sequence for the thumb war game that we were set to have.

"You know, you're just like Mal. Maybe we can be secret friends. I need someone to fill Malcolm's spot for me anyway, since he's always gone and everything." She muttered the last part distastefully, but her words had caught me so off guard, I stopped trying to beat her and just gave up. I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly and looked down. She was obviously upset about Malcolm not being able to spend time with her. He always had somewhere to be (of course now I knew why he was always missing).

"I'm sure he cares about you. Maybe he's just trying to figure some stuff out right now, and he just doesn't know how to handle everything." She scowled as she helped herself up from the bed and walked around my room to look around.

"What stuff would he have to figure out? He tells me everything, if there was something he needed to deal with, I would know about it. I just don't get what's wrong with him." She muttered, fiddling with something on my wardrobe. I jumped up and padded over to her, setting a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, everything's going to figure itself out, alright? I'm sure everything will be okay. You never know how someone could be feeling. He could be feeling horrible, or going through a hard time, or anything. I know that him ignoring you isn't the way to handle any situation he's going through, but right now you just need to trust him. You might be surprised." Her head shot up and she glared at me.

"And what do you know about anything? This is _my_ brother we're talking about, I think I would know him more than you." I jumped at her sudden outburst and crossed my arms over my chest.

"If you've forgotten, he's also my best friend. I think I'd at least know a little about him."

"Exactly. A little. While I've been living with him for my entire life, so I would know a lot. You don't have to tell me how to handle my brother." She snapped as she covered herself in the blankets on my bed and leaned against the headboard. I huffed and shook my head, standing by my wardrobe for what seemed like forever.

"Alright. I'm gonna go, I was planning on sleeping in the living room anyway, Mom said you were taking my room."

"Wait. Percy." I turned around before I could take a step towards the door and met her cold eyes. She shook her head and ran a hand through her hair. "I'm sorry." And that's all it took for me to come back. It was obvious she was hurting, even if she refused to admit it for reasons not known to me. I sat down on the bed next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"It's fine. I get it. But you have to believe he's not going to leave you. He still cares, you know that right?"

"I'm just not used to him leaving me in the dark. It's weird, and I'm worried about him." She said through a yawn.

"Maybe he just needs his space. This will figure itself out, I promise." She looked up at me with her eyes scrunched together, covered her mouth as she yawned again, and set her head on my shoulder.

"You know, maybe you're not _that_ bad." She admitted, pausing and then opening her mouth to say something else. "But you better not tell anyone about this, otherwise we both die." And then she shut her eyes, and I smiled because I realized her last sentence was a threat. I looked down at her sleeping figure, admiring the way she looked so completely relaxed, and trying to ignore the small, almost unnoticeable thrump in my chest as I tucked a stray curl behind her ear and reminded myself exactly who's sister was lying next to me.

* * *

**AN: So? What do you guys think? Drop me a review because I update faster when I get more reviews! Also, let me know your favorite quote or part from this chapter, and keep guessing about the Malcolm situation. Also, check out Falling for Grace if you haven't already( the sequel to exceptions). Alright, review for me please! Till next time- ShyGal**


	7. Bruises: Physical and Emotional Part Two

**Encounters**

**AN: Hey lovelies! I hope this was a quick update for you guys compared to my last one! If you all are lucky, I might update again this same week before I go off to camp! I know that lately my updates have been really slow, but don't worry, I'm not abandoning any stories, I promise. I actually have a really good idea for another one, but I'm not starting it till I'm done with this story and FFG. Anyway, reviews- which I didn't get many of :/**

**TheOneThatSitsAndLISTENS: Thanks! It was pretty great to write. **

**Guardian'sDragonOfDeath: Thanks!**

**Crie13:I can't confirm or deny any of your guesses, sorry! I want you guys to try and figure it out until I reveal- which might be happening in a couple chappies. Thanks so much, though, I'm glad you like how it's playing out! I worked prety hard on all of these. **

**WTC: I can't confirm or deny it yet, sorry! But keep reading, maybe you'll find out soon. **

**Fri0003: Thanks so much! And I can't tell you, you'll have to figure it out! **

**AwesomeTooAwesome: Thanks, it was mine too! **

**Rocketgod123: I can't confirm or deny that guess, but you'll find out soon if you're right or not! I'll try to update FFG soon, but right now I'm kind of blocked for that one which is why I'm trying to work on this one to compensate. But I'm flattered you think my writing is addictive!**

**Zammy987: Thanks! I hope you read my review! And I can't confirm or deny your guess yet, but keep reading to find out!**

**Alright, here you go!**

**Annabeth**

"So how was your night?" Thalia asked me the day of the lock in as we, accompanied with Piper, walked around the grounds of the nearest mall.

When Thalia had woken me up in the morning with her loud, _My Chemical Romance- Teenagers_ ringtone and informed me that I had two hours to get ready before she dragged me to the mall with her, I was instantly suspicious. I mean, Thalia didn't go to the mall unless her life counted on it. As soon as I was in the car, however, she made it clear that the only reason I was being dragged along to the mall, was because _she_ was also being dragged along to the mall by Piper, and she'd rather drag me through hell with her than suffer alone.

"It was the way all my friday nights are. Tiring, and spent washing off my makeup alone. Malcolm wasn't home last night, apparently he was spending the night at Percy's." I said the last part in the most un-bitter way I could manage, but my words still dripped with metric tons of acid. The two girls next to me said nothing for a matter of seconds, until Thalia looked up from her phone and met my eyes.

"I'm sure he was fine Annie. Don't worry so much, you'll get worry lines." I nodded and played with the end of the shirt I was wearing, fixing my glasses- which I was forced to throw on as even though Thalia had given me a two hour warning, I only slumped myself out of bed ten minutes before she arrived and didn't have have enough time to carefully place my contacts in- and trying to remember the advice Percy had given me the week before. I needed to trust my brother. He was probably just being a guy, doing guy things, with, well, guys.

Percy and I had started to get on a lot better, only arguing with each other a handful of times through the week. I was still extremely distant because of the feud though, but I was slowly starting to agree with him, even if I wasn't willing to risk my spot on the team just to be friends with him. Without fault, though, he'd always try to be around when Malcolm wasn't, and he was quickly turning into more of a brotherly figure for me than I was willing to admit.

"Mmmhmm." Piper agreed, and I glanced over at her to see her glancing around quickly, and not so subtly biting the insides of her cheeks. I eyed her warily and fiddled with a piece of my hair.

"You guys are probably right. How was your night?"

"It was okay. Didn't get much sleep, but you know, whatever." Thalia answered. I nodded in agreement and turned to Piper.

"And you?" I asked as we passed an American Outfitters store. I only had about three hours till I had to head off to Goode, and there was no doubt in my mind I'd spend all three hours trailing behind Piper, and eventually carrying some of he bags because the amount of bags she had on her arms now in adittion to the bags of clothes she hadn't purchased yet, would break her arms off.

"Uh, you know, fine, just doing normal things. And stuff. Yeah." Piper answered in a high pitched voice, and I stopped in my tracks to stare at her. Her hands were fiddling around with each other, and the blood that had rushed to her cheeks made her look like an adorable tomato.

"Okay, what's up with you? You've been acting strange the whole morning."

"Yeah," Thalia bit out, sending her a look with narrowed eyes. "What's up with you?" Piper tucked some hair behind her ear and looked away quietly.

"Nothing, I'm just really tired, yup. Yup, yup, yup."

"I don't believe your bull-" I started but Thalia cut me off by screaming her brother's name and pointing straight. That's when two very odd, and unplanned things happened. We ran into two football players, one of them my former crush, and the other, a guy who had spilled coffee on me not too long ago.

So, maybe when I was in like, eight grade I had like the biggest crush on Jason Grace. And maybe I never told Thalia that that crush had carried on to high school. And maybe I told Piper, the only person who ever knew about my crush, that I had totally moved on because he'd become a football player and I'd just joined the cheer team, and it was totally forbidden for me to even think of him that way. But that didn't mean I still didn't feel a little twinge in my chest every time I saw the guy, and that didn't mean that when he caught me that one time when I fell off the pyramid it took all my will power not to jump around like a little wuss. But _obviously_, I'd totally moved on.

Jason caught my eye for the following reasons: We were kind of friends. I mean, I had come over to his house enough that I knew his favorite ice cream flavor was cookie dough. I knew him enough to find out that he was the only one who was almost as good as me at video games, and who was capable of matching my kill streak perfectly when it came to shooting games. He was so smart, we were almost tied for ranks at Goode, with him being number two, and me being number three. And lastly, and most importantly, he saved Piper's life. He helped keep one of the most important people who helped keep me at ease, who helped me breath easy, who helped me in general, stay alive. And I could not be more grateful to him.

But obviously nothing could occur between us because he completely friend zoned me- as he should've considering the feud-, we were on opposing teams, and he was my best friend's brother. It would've never, in a million years, worked, and Thalia would've never let it happen. So of course, when I saw the two guys, I took two seconds to rake over Jason and die a little inside before I switched my eyes over to Percy and tried to plaster an uninterested look on my face.

"What the fuck are you doing here, Jace?" Thalia barked out, detering the awkward silence that was about to make itself known.

"Coach sent us to go get some sports equipment." Jason explained, stuffing his hands in his pockets and pressing his lips together. I quirked an eyebrow and crossed my arms over my chest.

"And you thought the best place to come get sports equipment was the mall?" I asked, genuinley curious as to why he would come here. He made eye contact with Piper and blood rushed to her face as I bit my lip so hard it hurt.

"Yeah. I did." He said in the most serious tone you could imagine, not once ripping his eyes away from Piper, and for some reason, I had a feeling there was an unspoken meaning behind his words. Finally, after my spirits shattered and he broke eye contact with Piper, he gave me a once over and his eyebrows scrunched together. That's when the second unplanned thing occurred.

"Why are you wearing a Goode Football shirt?" Cue my eyes widening in shock. Because of the fact that I'd decided to drag myself out of bed only a matter of minutes before I was picked up, I threw on the first pair of shorts and the first shirt I could find without even looking at them. Now, thinking back it, I realized I never gave Percy fucking Jackson his football shirt back from the week before, and apparently Piper hadn't noticed because she didn't comment on it. Percy and I locked eyes for half a second and I opened my mouth before accusations could be thrown.

"It's Malcolm's." We both said at the same time, and we stared at each other as everyone else looked confused. I dug my nails into the palm of my hand and began.

"Last week after the game, Malcolm said he was going to Wing Stop with some of the football guys, and he asked me if I could give Percy a ride home."

"When we got to my house," Percy continued, "It was storming really bad and so we got drenched and she asked me if Malcolm had left any clothes at my house, and so I gave her his football shirt." I let out an internal sigh of relief at the fact that he knew well enough to leave out the part where I stayed the night and slept in the same bed as him. We both knew that this shirt was his, but nobody else did, so this story was perfectly plausible. Jason and Piper looked convinced, but Thalia was eyeing my shirt like she didn't believe a word that came out of my mouth.

"Speaking of Malcolm, how come you guys' coach didn't ask your captain to go get the stuff?" Piper asked, accepting the excuse I'd given.

"He didn't show up to the meeting this morning." Percy explained. I drew my eyebrows together and stopped what I was doing.

"Wait. But Malcolm told me he was staying the night at your house." I said confused, and a fleeting look of annoyance and anger flashed on Jason's face before he squeezed the bridge of his nose and let out a puff of air.

"That idiot." He whispered, and I instantly turned to him.

"Do you know something? Do you know where he is?"

"Annabeth, I... I have to go get the gear, Piper, can you do me a solid and show me where it is?"

"Wait, you know something! Where's my brother?!" I practically screamed, and all the pent up frustration I had in my body was slowly starting to make itself known. Before I could chase after Piper and Jason, both Thalia and Percy grabbed one of my arms and held me back.

"Annabeth calm down! Anna!" Thalia tried, her voice quavering and making me stop in my tracks. I glanced at her and my eyes widened as I saw her eyes clouding. I think the only time I'd ever seen Thalia cry was when Piper had tried to off herself. Other than that, she'd always been the strong one. But now here she was, almost crying for some unknown reason and I didn't even know why.

"Annabeth, come with me, we'll talk, and we'll figure everything out." Percy assured, rubbing circles into my left arm. It felt strangely soothing, but I was too focused on Thalia to care. She lifted her chin and let go of my arm.

"He's right, babe. I know you don't even wanna be here, why don't you let Percy take you home? You need to grab your stuff for the lock in anyway."

"But what about you, Thalia, I don't wanna leave you here."

"I have to go grab my brother anyway. I'll be fine, I promise." She turned and started walking away, but stopped abruptly and met my eyes. "I'm sorry for everything." And then she walked away before I got a chance to respond. I ripped myself away from Percy and walked to the exit of the mall, clenching my fists and biting my lip.

"Annabeth, wait up!" I ignored him and rushed towards the dark blue truck I knew was his, shutting myself inside of it, and tasting blood in my mouth. He started the car and let out a breath.

"Annabeth, you'll have to talk to me eventually. I'm not leaving you alone until you do." He informed me as we pulled out of the mall and into the street.

"I need to cool down right now, okay? So, just be quiet. I'll talk to you when I'm feeling better." And we left it at that. We stayed silent for the rest of the ride, only listening to each other's breaths and the low humming sound of the car. He parked outside my house and I was dismayed to find out that Helen and Dad were still there. Once the car shut off, neither of us made a move to get out. They might've been the longest minutes of my life. And then he spoke up.

"You wanna talk about it?"

"Inside." Was my only response before I walked around to the back yard and started climbing up the straight ladder. I could hear screaming from inside and I quickened my pace, hearing the old wooden ladder rungs creak underneath my feet.

Now, quick note. I've had a ladder leading up to my balcony since before I could remember. We never changed the ladder. So, if we're thinking about it, this ladder was as old as I was. Which meant it was sixteen years old. Which meant it was old. Which meant it was weak. But of course, those thoughts didn't really run through my mind before I decided to use a ladder that I hadn't used in ages. And of course, I didn't think about the possibility of two people climbing at the same time being too much weight on this poor old ladder. So of course, when two ladder rungs snapped underneath my feet, I was totally caught by surprise, and I had no time to react before I was briefly free falling towards the ground. But I say briefly for a reason because the person under me caught me in mid air.

"Woah, you okay?" He asked, one hand wrapped around my torso and the other holding the ladder rung above him. I knew it was only a matter of time until that one snapped, so I tried to ignore the way my waist felt like it was on fire and nodded quickly, skipping up to the next ladder rung and crawling up to my balcony. I grabbed his hand and helped him up, making him crash into me slightly but not caring enough to say sorry before I barged into my room and listened to the yelling from down stairs.

"Helen, these are my children! That's not what you promised me in the beggining! You said they'd have a normal life, you said you'd leave them alone!" Dad yelled, and I stilled. I had no idea what he was going on about, but it was the first time I'd ever heard him stand up to Helen.

"I can do whatever I fucking please, Frederick, and if that means sending them on an airplane, I'll do exactly that and you won't have anything to say about it."

"But you know how they feel about flying, you know how it brings back memories of Athena-"

"Don't you even _dare_ bring her up. I'm dying to spit on that bitch's grave, I don't see why I haven't already."

"Helen! You've done enough! She's dead! So just leave her out of this!"

"Don't defend her! You love me now, she's out of the picture. You chose me. _You_ love _me._ Not her. Right?" There was a long pause, and I covered my mouth with my hand, clamping down on my lip so hard it hurt. I couldn't process what I was hearing.

"Of course. I love you." My dad said, loud enough for me to hear, but sounding like he didn't believe what he was saying himself. "But Helen. I'm begging you. Don't put them through anymore misery. I've seen the bruises you've given Annabeth. I saw the scar. And I know that you've got Malcolm paranoid. Just please, leave my children out of this. Don't do this to them. Please."

"That little fucker deserved every bruise she ever got from me. Your children are disgusting, and brats, and a disgrace to humanity. Of course, any offspring of Athena is horrendous. So, they _will_ go on the plane, and if I hear one more peep about the flight from you, I promise I'll give Annabeth more bruises than she can count. Maybe I'll start back up on Malcolm again too. Now let's go, before we're late to the movie." And then the front door slammed shut and Percy and I were alone in a house that held more secrets than even I knew about.

I stood there, holding my hand to my mouth for what seemed like the longest time. He knew about the bruises. He realized they were there. Why couldn't he do anything? Nothing made sense, it was like I had a thousand puzzle pieces sitting in front of me, but I couldn't fit any of them together. Before I could move a muscle, Percy grabbed my hand and dragged me to the upstairs bathroom, flipping the light on as we went inside. He let go of my hand and looked at me expectantly.

"Show me. Show me the bruises. Show me the scar."

"Why would I show you that?" I asked in the blandest tone I could manage, but inside I felt like everything was collapsing around me.

"Because I care. So let me." I let out a breath and shook my head.

"They're gross. It's really not even-"

"Annabeth. Just show me." We stared at each other, daring the other to look away first before I let out a small breath that held so much fear, you wouldn't even believe it. And then slowly, I lifted my shirt- or should I say his shirt- above my head and threw it to the side. I instantly felt naked, revealed, and completely bare.

"Annabeth... How long has this been going on?" He asked without air, staring at my probably gory midsection. "These are absolutely horrible." He commented quietly, and I risked a glance in the mirror. As always, that was a mistake because what I saw made me want to vomit. There were a couple bruises spread around, some a deathly yellow, but most a red purple. He met my eyes and neared his hand to my waist. "Can I?" I nodded quietly, holding my head up high and averting his eyes.

His fingers skimmed around the purplish marks on my torso, bringing goose bumps up to my skin, and making me hold my breath. I remembered every individual event that caused me each bruise. One when I forgot to take my clothes out from the dryer, another when I left my case work down stairs at the dining table, another from when my video games were too loud... They were all minimal things, and yet I still ended up a mild version of black and blue. My senses heightened as he traced my scar and I met his eyes.

Pity, and confusion, and anger swam around his very confusing, very beautiful orbs as he quickly turned around and searched for something in the sink cabinet.

"This isn't okay." He stated as he pulled out the only aloe we had and started dabbing it on my skin.

"I'm fine, it's nothing." I assured as I internally laughed at the situation. This time he was the one patching me up. I screeched as he lightly pressed on one of the bruises.

"Yeah, I don't think you are. Why hasn't anybody called the cops? Why are you people just sitting around while this is going on?" He asked as he grabbed a piece of toilet paper and wet it, grabbing my face and bringing it closer. I involuntarily sucked in a breath as our distance shortened. He dabbed at my lip and shook his head at me. "Take your own advice and stop chewing on your lip."

"We can't call the cops, Helen _is_ the cops." I answered quickly, not liking the way that our short distance reminded me a lot about Billy and that event in my life. "No one would believe us."

"But you have proof. You have bruises." I let out a frustrated breath and shook my head.

"Last time we tried to turn Helen in for abuse, she told the station that I'd been in a tumbling accident, and I had just come back from rehab for being on drugs. So now no one in the police stations sees either Malcolm or me as a reliable source. Plus, if we tried to turn her in and it didn't work, like it never does, she'd just bruise me up even more, so there's no point. This is how it has to be." He stopped dabbing at my lip and looked at me.

"Why doesn't your dad do something? Why doesn't Malcolm protect you?" I scoffed.

"Malcolm doesn't care, if he did he would be here right now." And then I marched down stairs without a glance behind. I was almost scared I'd trip down the stairs with how fast I was going, but I managed not to.

"Annabeth, come on." I flipped the kitchen light on and dug through my pantry as Percy leaned up and grabbed the hot cheetos bag I was searching for on the shelf above me. I stared at him for less than a second before I marched back up to my room and tried to shut the door but failed because of Percy's foot. I slumped myself into my computer chair, still shirtless, still confused, and still enraged. "Annabeth. How are you feeling right now?" He asked, handing me a cold compress. I grabbed it and held it to my stomach.

"Fine." I said popping a cheeto in my mouth.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." I said, starting to get pissed off.

"You promised we'd talk when we got inside. We're inside."

"I changed my mind."

"But you promised."

"And?"

"Promises shouldn't be broken."

"Well they are, god damn it!" I yelled. as I stood up and slammed the compress on the table. "They are because people are selfish liars! I've had plenty of promises broken! Malcolm promised me he'd always be there for me, but look where he's not! He said we'd tell each other everything, but look what didn't happen! People are going to lie, and people are going to cheat, and people are going to break promises no matter what! It's the way life works!" He nodded and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Are you fine right now?"

"No! I'm not fine! I'm mad! I'm mad because Malcolm's not here when he promised he would be, when he promised he'd always care, when he promised that we'd always get through everything together! I'm mad that he's lying to me, and that he's keeping secrets for whatever reason he is! I'm mad that Helen said that my mother was a disgrace, and that she wants to spit on her grave, and that my Dad said he didn't love her anymore! I'm mad that my best friend almost cried today and I don't know how to help because I don't know why she was! I'm mad that you heard Helen and my Dad arguing! I'm mad that you saw my bruises, and my scars because I'm ashamed of them, and I'm ashamed of myself! And I'm mad that Helen's making us fly, and that she threatened my brother even though I'm mad at him and he doesn't seem to care anymore at all! And I'm really, really, extremely mad that I've managed to look weak in front of you right now because that means I broke my vow! And I'm mad at myself because I feel absolutely worthless at the moment because apparently I deserved every bruise I ever got, and I'm a disgrace to humanity. So no, I'm not fine, I'm less than fine."

I sucked in a breath and glared at everything and nothing at the same time through the hot, salty, angry tears that rolled down my face. This was absolutely ridiculous. My heart yearned for my mom, and for my brother, and for Thalia, and maybe even a little to Percy.

"God damn it." I groaned as I lifted up my hand to wipe away my stupid ass tears, but Percy grabbed my arm and stopped me.

"No. Don't. Just let it out. You have to let go, or you're going to end up bottling, and bottling isn't good. Just let it all go." And surprisingly, I listened to him. So I sat down on my room floor and I just let it all go while he grabbed his shirt from the bathroom and tossed it to me, letting me slip back inside of it without questioning anything. And when we were both lying on my bed a couple minutes later, neither saying a word, and everything deathly quiet, I realized that this wasn't the guy I met over a month ago.

That guy wouldn't have gone through all the trouble he went through today to get me to open up to him like I've never done with anyone else. That guy wouldn't have cared. But this one did. And I was going to have to face the fact that Percy meant something to me now, in the way that I could come to him when I couldn't come to Malcolm. I was going to have to face the fact that now, he was a part of my life that I needed there, regardless of what the feud said about cheerleaders and football players coexisting with each other. The fact became even more real when said person made eye contact with me and said the following.

"You know, I know what it's like. To feel worthless. I was there, a really long time ago. My Mom always wanted the best for me. She married this guy... Gabe. He promised he'd provide for us, and he'd help us through, and he was like a shining star. But we found out he was lying, and he'd hit me, and make me feel like nothing whenever Mom had her back turned. It was a rough time for us, I can't deny that. But my mom and I got through it together."

"Why are you telling me this?" I'd asked at the time because he'd just shared something so deeply personal about his life, and he had no reason to tell me. He just did.

"Because, I'm trying to explain. You can't do this all by yourself. You can't cope alone. And maybe Malcolm won't always be there to help you through you struggles. But I promise you I'll try my hardest to be. You're something special, you know. You're unique, and intelligent, and you tell it to people like you don't give a fuck what anyone else thinks. You might be the strongest person I've ever met. You're something I've never, in all the time I've roamed the earth, seen before. But I don't want to see you give up right in front of me because if you can't hold it together, then what chance do the rest of us have?" And then he'd shot me a smile, and then I'd smiled back and we looked like the cheschire cat looking into a mirror. But that was an hour ago, and now we were still laying there, still in silence. I looked up at him to find him staring at the ceiling, and without thinking, I blurted the first thing I could think.

"I miss her." I said quietly as I got up and grabbed a duffel bag, going to my closet and grabbing necessary clothes for the lock in. I heard the bed creak, signifying that he was up. I shoveled more clothes into my bag and turned to look at him as he grabbed my phone charger and stuffed it in the bag.

"I know you do. I miss my Dad. But just know that no one can taint the image you have of her unless you let them. Don't change the perspective you have until you have evidence. I'm sure she loved you."

"And I'm sure your Dad loved you." I reassured him, and for the first time in my life, I felt a sensation of escape I'd never felt before. Never before was I more sure of something that I'd said. There was no doubt in my mind that Percy's that loved him to bits. He tossed me a shirt and I stared at it, confused.

"You might not want to show up to the lock in in the shirt you're wearing." He pointed out with a smirk, and I quickly realized I was still wearing his football shirt. I shut myself in the closet and changed shirts, handing him his back and apologizing.

"It's fine. And Annabeth?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm sure whatever's going on right now in your family will figure itself out. Just don't let yourself go."

"I don't think I can with you around." I joked, smirking slightly as we reached the stairs. He rolled his eyes at me and jingled the car keys in front of me.

"Ready for a night full of drama?"

* * *

**AN: So... What'd you guys think? I hope it was decent, I thought I did a good job on this one. So, I will confirm this before anyone asks,yes, Annabeth kind of just brother zoned Percy in this chapter a little, but I promise that'll change! I have a plan. Also, I know that Annabeth liking Jason is weird, but just bare with me, you all know this is a percabeth fic so we all know that's not happening. Plus I ship jasiper hard core. And the plot thickened! I'm begging you guys, someone just try and interpret the conversation between Helen and Frederick. I wanna know what you guys think about that. Anyway, I hope you guys liked it, and please, please, please, drop me a review. I didn't get many last chapter and I'd really really appreciate it because your critics and feedback make me a better writer. Anyway, love you guys, till next time- ShyGal**


	8. Handcuffs and Bandhalls

**Encounters**

**AN: Hey lovelies! I promised you I'd try to update again this week, and I did so yay! I'm really tired right now, and I want to get this upload out there quickly, so for the sake of time, I won't answer reviews this chapter, but I promise I'll answer them next chapter. Anyway, Leggo.**

**Percy**

Annabeth Chase was the bane of my existence. That statement was a fact that I was incapable of denying. The girl could unravel me like nobody else.

Annabeth had lots of great qualities. She was absolutely brilliant, she was outgoing in her own special way, and she tried to care about everyone and everything that came her way. She was kind, that's for sure. She was the type of person who'd hand a homeless person a hundred bucks just because she sympathized.

This amazing, intelligent girl was a hard ass. You could tell her over and over again that she was wrong, and she'd do absolutely anything in her power to prove she was right, and when she was proven wrong, she would refuse to own up to it. Indenial had never looked so great on a person. As stubborn and as logical as she was, there were moments when the younger Chase sibling would act her age, or in other words, immature.

I found this out when we were driving to the lock-in, and I had to fight her over which radio station to put because apparently my stations were "trash". Through this whole bit, she manage to squeeze in a your mom joke, and a that's what she said. I couldn't stop a smile from spreading across my face.

The thing I loved most about Annabeth, was the fact that she literally didn't give a shit what other people said- mostly. When it came to herself, of course. If you came up to her and told her she was a bitch, she'd laugh in your face, pop a cheeto in her mouth, and send you a look like, _oh, you're just figuring this out?_ If you came up to her, though, and told her a close friend of hers was a bitch, well, I hope you have your will written out because you just dug your own grave.

Not to focus too much on the physical, but Annabeth was absolutely stunning. Her eyes lit up whenever she was happy, they darkened whenever she was mad, and they glistened whenever she was sad. She just had this down to earth feel about her that I couldn't shake, and really, I didn't want to. I hated to think that I was becoming attached to her because if that ever happened, I knew I'd have to sit still and just wait till I moved on. It just couldn't happen. Malcolm would murder me, and I'd be backstabbing him in the process. But I couldn't shake the feeling that her hold on me was tightening like a leech.

So, all in all, she was an interesting girl. But there was one thing that I despised about Annabeth. She payed an insane amount of attention to the feud. All her actions centered around the feud. It was just absolutely ridiculous. Why should she let a petty rivalry between two teams define who she was, what she did, who she hung out with? She already had enough going on in her life, she deserved some control, and in one of the scenarios where she can have some, she gives it away because of a feud?

Of course you can imagine that when we got to the school, Annabeth made me park in the back so no one would see us, and walk in at different times so no one would be suspicious. So now, here I was, walking into the school with a comforter and a duffel bag, sporting an annoyed look on my face.

The hallways of Goode were dark, making the school seem mysterious and brooding if not for the big _Hope you're having a Goode day_ banner that ran across the wall. I stopped and looked around the building, realizing that I was now familiar with it. There were pictures of previous athletes from years before stowed up on the wall. I stepped forward and searched for the one person I didn't imagine to find. My Dad. The picture quality was horrible, but I could tell it was him by his messy unkempt hair and his piercing green eyes. It was like looking in a mirror.

Dad had come here when he was in high school, before he moved to Long Island and met my mom. It was part of the reason I really wanted to come here. It brought me closer to him, and that made me feel good inside. I snapped out of my thoughts and followed the arrows drawn on printer paper towards the biggest gym. What I saw almost made me bust out laughing. All the football players were on the right side of the gym, and all the cheerleaders were on the left side, both sides glaring at the other with intensity. I spotted Annabeth heading straight for the door. Quickly and quietly, I set my stuff down by the side claimed by the football players and followed Annabeth out the door.

"Where are you going?"

"Malcolm." She bit out, not stopping to address me appropriately. We turned the corner together and there he was, bags in hands, and the most tired expression plastered on his face. I expected Annabeth to stand there and cuss him out, but that wasn't her initial reaction. Instead, she walked quickly towards him and hugged him quietly, not saying a word to him. When she pulled back she had the angriest look on her face. "Where the hell have you been? Why did you lie to me?"

"Annabeth-"

"No, this is not okay. You had me worried sick, you can't just disappear all the time! Seriously, where have you been?"

"I've been around, Annabeth. It doesn't matter, I'm fine." I tried to not look at Malcolm, but I could feel his eyes on me. Annabeth's face twisted into disbelief and I could just tell she was about to yell.

"It doesn't _matter_? It fucking matters to me, Malcolm. I've done nothing but stress about you the entire day. You told me you were at his house when you weren't, so don't come up to me and tell me you were around."

"I never asked you to stress about me, Annabeth."

"You never had to! It comes with the role of being your sister!"

"That's exactly it, Annabeth! You're my sister. Just my sister, not my mom. You have no right to be worried for me, to always be asking where I am, to always be badgering! My private life is exactly that, private, which means it doesn't concern you, and you should just stay out of it. Who are you to tell me what I can and can't do? I'll go wherever I want, whenever I want, and you shouldn't have anything to say about it because it's _my_ life."

I tried and failed to hide my shock, my jaw going slack, and my face instantly reddening with anger. How the hell could Malcolm say something like that to his sister? Apparently Annabeth was just as shocked by his little rant because a stunned look quickly took over her pretty little face, and then she drew her eyebrows together.

"You know what? Fine. But when something happens to you, don't expect me to be waiting around for you to come home so you can talk to me about it like we used to because I won't be there." She snapped back, and then she spun on her heel and marched back into the gym. Malcolm met my eyes briefly before he dropped his bags and headed outside. Without question, I followed him, wondering where he was going until I stopped in my tracks. Malcolm leaned by the wall of the school, talking to a dark haired girl.

I knew the voice sounded familiar, and now I knew why. I saw this girl everday in math class, and Annabeth knew her as her best friend. I met her after one football game, when Jason introduced me to her. Thalia Grace.

"Thalia?" They both visibly stiffened, and when Malcolm turned around, I saw fear in both of their eyes for the first time in forever.

"This isn't what it looks like." Malcolm shot out immediatley, but I payed no attention to him as I walked over to the both of them.

"No, I know it's what it looks like because I heard you guys' conversation last week. I know about you guys, I just didn't know who it was." They both stayed silent for a minute before Malcolm spoke.

"Please don't tell Annabeth." I quirked an eyebrow and crossed my arms over my chest.

"You're asking me to lie to her?"

"If she found out, she'd be pissed, it'd ruin her night." Thalia tried to rationalize, but I wasn't having any of it.

"Well her night's already ruined." I stated, giving Malcolm a look.

"Are you saying all of this is my fault?"

"Well it kind of is, Malcolm! Look, I don't care who you go out with. In fact, I think that you guys are good for each other. But you're stepping over Annabeth in the process, and that's not okay." I paused, taking a breath and gauging their reactions. Malcolm seemed shocked, and Thalia seemed thoughtful. "You weren't there for her today. She went through something absolutely horrible, and you weren't there. You have to understand that she sees you as one of the only people she can come to, and knowing that you can't even spend five minutes to talk to her has really impacted how she views you guys' relationship. She told me how she feels, she thinks you don't care about her anymore. She's pissed at you, yeah, but she's also really sad because she thinks you're leaving her in the dust."

"Why would she think that?"

"Because that's the way you're treating her, Malcolm." He stood there, quiet as a mouse, before he opened his mouth to say something.

"You don't understand. Thalia and I are in a really rough position right now and-"

"I'm pregnant." Thalia blurted out, and my eyes were like saucers. Malcolm glanced at her and she stared right back. "I'm four weeks pregnant, and we've been going to the doctors a lot lately because we need to get everything checked. My parents know, and they've been letting Malcolm sleep over at our house because of it. Look, I know this is our fault, and we brought this on ourselves, but there's no way in hell that I'm going to give up my kid, even if it's my best friends brother, and I know personally that Annabeth isn't going to take these news with open arms because when we told Jason, he was ready to beat the living shit out of Malcolm. We never meant for this to happen. It just did." She revealed through a quivering voice.

We stood there staring at each other, Thalia with her jaw clenched, Malcolm running his fingers through his hair in a frustrated manner, and me just trying to keep it together. This was definitley more than I had thought it was.

"Well say something." Malcolm ordered after two whole minutes had passed.

"Look, I'm not gonna judge because I know mistakes happen, but this doesn't take away from what I said. I know you love Thalia, but I know you love Annabeth too, so if you love both of them, spend time with both of them. And what you said to her was completely out of line. She just wants to know that you're okay, she's you sister, she cares a lot."

"I care about her too."

"Then show her, before she completely breaks down." He jutted his chin out at me and headed towards his car, grabbing some bags from the back.

"It was your shirt, wasn't it?" Thalia asked from behind me. I glanced at her and gave her a confused look. "The football shirt." I nodded tentatively and she let out a small smile that contradicted highly with her watery eyes. "I figured. I have Malcolm's football shirt at home, there was no way that was his. Is there a reason she has that shirt?" She asked with in a suggestive tone.

"She just needed something to wear because her uniform was soaked, honest. I could never do something with her, she's my best friend's sister." I answered, feeling like a liar for some odd reason.

"Well that's what I said about Malcolm, but look where we are." She paused and gave me a look. "We're not trying to hurt her, you know. We're just dealing with a lot right now."

"I know. But you're gonna have to come clean some time." She nodded as she tucked some hair behind her ear.

"Are you gonna tell her?"

"No, that's something you two need to tell her together, but if she gets mad at me because I didn't tell her a secret you two were keeping from her, I'll be kind of mad." I admited. She nodded and I squeezed her shoulder. "Don't worry. It'll all figure itself out." And with that I headed back inside, letting the couple have a private moment alone before he had to come in for the lock in.

* * *

"Everybody shut up!" Coach Hedge yelled, and everything stilled. The cheer coach, Ms. Lavor, clapped her hands and gave an uncertain smile. "I'm glad everyone's here, even though you had no choice. I really have hope that this night will help us all come closer together, and to learn to respect each other instead of treating each other like inferiors. So, the first thing we're going to do is announce partners. For this night, you'll have a buddy. You have to stay with your buddy at all times, through all of our team building activities. Buddies will be assigned based on team rank. We trust the higher members of each team with more responsibility, and matureness than the other members of the team, so those buddies will be placed accordingly. Every member of each team will be paired with a member from the opposing team. If you get placed with a member from the same team as you, we'll make sure to switch you, or, if needed, place you in a group of three. As the cheer team currently does not have an official captain, we'll use the previous captain as our captain for the buddy system, but this doesn't mean you're back on position Drew. When we call the pairs, you are to stand up here, side by side, until instructed not to do so. If anyone moves, or runs away from their buddy, you will get a two week suspension from the team. Everyone understand?" People nodded so fast I was afraid some might get whiplash. No one wanted a two week suspension, so no one wanted to risk it.

"Okay, good. We'll start naming buddies now, starting from high member positions. M. Chase, D. Tanaka. You guys can start the line on the right side of the gym." I tried to hold in my laughter at Malcolm's horrible luck. "J. Grace, P. Mclean. C. Beckendorf, S. Beauregard. P. Jackson, A. Chase..." I met her half way and she punched me in the arm.

"How horrible, I'll have to spend my whole night with you." She said, faking disgust. I rolled my eyes at her as we walked to where everyone was standing side by side. I took my place next to Silena and smiled. I was fairly happy with my buddy. If it was anyone else other than Piper, Rachel, or Silena, I would've been completely lost on what to do. I still needed to talk to her about the argument she had with Malcolm, but that had to wait.

After Ms. Valor finished off the names- which left some people pissed- Coach Hedge grabbed a cardboard box with something we couldn't see inside.

"Remember what we said. If anyone moves, you'll get a two week suspension." Coach reminded us, and before anyone knew what was happening, handcuffs were snapped on Malcolm and Drew's wrists, keeping them attached to each other. Nobody moved, and I'm fairly sure some people were holding their breaths, hoping and praying that what had just happened wasn't going to happen to them. Of course, by the second set of handcuffs- attaching Piper and Jason- hope was starting to fade, and by the third set, everyone knew their fate was the same. I let out a breath as handcuffs were snapped on me and Annabeth's wrist, holding us together. Annabeth glanced at me quickly, but I couldn't read her expression. By the time the last set of handcuffs was snapped, everyone was muttering under their breath about how horrible this idea was.

"I really don't care." Annabeth muttered. I glanced at her and managed a smirk. "I mean, it's not like we haven't been closer." I tried not to laugh at her honesty and nodded.

"Okay! Now that everyone's been paired up, we can start with introductions. Find a spot in the gym and talk to your buddy for a couple minutes before we start our first activity." Annabeth stared at me for less than half a second before she plopped down in the same place she was standing, bringing me down with her. She sat down criss-cross applesauce and lifted her chin.

"Hi, I'm Annabeth Chase, and I'm an alcoholic." I let out a laugh and sat down right next to her.

"We need to talk about that argument." I said quickly, and guilt flooded my body as her face fell.

"Later." She answered, and I internally let out a breath. I was glad that now, she actually talked to me instead of avoiding any horrible situation that came her way. I nodded in agreement before looking up and catching Annabeth staring at something in the distance. I followed her line of gaze and was shocked to find out that her object of distraction was Jason Grace.

"You like him?" I asked, snapping her out of her thoughts. She looked up at me with wide eyes before chewing on her lip.

"Of course not. That's prohibited, remember?"

"No, dating a football player is prohibited. Liking one isn't punishable unless you admit it to someone who cares. Lucky for you, I don't care." I said, partially lying to myself although I didn't know why. Would I have cared? If so, why did I? My mind was more mixed up than a rubix cube at the moment.

"I could never like Jason, he's my best friend's brother." She stated after some time, and the irony of the situation was just bizzare. Thalia was pregnant with her best friend's brother's child, while Annabeth was crushing on her best friend's brother, who, if things ended up right with Thalia and Malcolm, had the potential to be her brother-in-law. That was the first reason Jason and Annabeth could never happen. The second reason is that Jason told me himself he's got his eye on someone, and when I guessed Annabeth, he informed me that she was like a sister to him. For some reason, knowing that Annabeth couldn't date him comforted me. I gave her a look that showed just how much I knew her statement was a load of bullshit, and she rolled her eyes at me. "It's just a small crush. Like, minimal, really. I'm sure it'll blow over soon." She said, more to herself than to me. I stared at her as her eyebrows scrunched up together and her facial expression grew more and more confused.

"If you need to talk to me about it, I'm here, you know." She looked up at me and smiled.

"Thanks, but I have Thalia for that. I mean, I guess I do. She's been kind of busy lately."

"You can't really talk to her when she's his sister." I pointed out, and she ran a hand through her hair quietly. I clamped my mouth shut and tried not to blurt everything out. Of course she's been busy, she's been going to doctor's appointmets non stop. I wanted to tell Annabeth what was going on so badly, but I knew if I told her, Malcolm would never forgive me. Before I could reply to her, a whistle was blown, and everyone perked up.

"Alright everyone! We're starting activities so listen up!" Coach Hedge yelled. "First, we'll start with partner activities, and then we'll converge into big groups. After that, we'll have free time, and then we'll section people off in rooms. First activity will be back to back drawing!"

* * *

By activity number four, Annabeth was sweating, and I was desperatley hoping that her coordination skills proved to be as good as she said they were. We'd gotten through the back-to-back drawing activity, the survival scenario activity, and the stereotype activity. Now, we were on the mind field activity, and I had a small feeling in the deep of my gut that warned me we were about to get screwed over.

The basis of the game was to help your partner get across the gym floor without hitting any obstacles. The catch is, your partner's blind folded. The other catch is, whoever gets there first gets first dibs on where they get to sleep, and what they get to eat. If you're last to get there, you have to sleep in the guy's indoor locker room. So, to make things clear, the competition was strong, and there was no doubt in my mind that people would be sabotaging each other like ther was no tomorrow.

"I don't understand why I have to be the one with the blind fold." Annabeth complained as she leaned against my back for support. Because of the fact that we were attached with hand cuffs, the only way any of us could do this exercise was by being back to back with our partner, with the blind folded person facing away from where the finish line was, and the seeing person facing the finish line.

"Don't worry, I'm great at directions." I assured her, but even I could tell I was a lying through my teeth.

"Oh, I'm sure." She replied sarcastically.

"Look, we're gonna get through it. We're almost done with activities, we're about to kick ass."

"I hope we're not last because-" Her words drowned down in her throat as I locked our hands together in preperation for the race. I smirked to myself, proud that I'd managed to render her speechless. I tried to ignore the way her delicate hands felt in mine and listened to Coach Hedge blow the whistle that signified the start of the race.

As soon as he blew it, all hell broke loose. People were jumping over chairs, tripping over balls, and toppling over each other. At one point, someone ended up tripping over another pair of buddies. The string of cuss words that filled the gym made my ears bleed. I tried to move quickly, but not fast enough that Annabeth wouldn't be able to match my pace. I cringed as I heard somebody cuss someone else out and continued.

"Remember that we need to move together!" I yelled over the chaos, and Annabeth's grip on my hands tightened as her response. "Okay, slight left, there's a chair in front of us."

"Go faster, Perce." She ordered through a breath, and I almost tripped over my own feet at her new nickname for me. I sped up my pace and dogged a ball, looking for the culprit. "Keep your eyes ahead!" Annabeth yelled, although how she knew I wasn't looking forward was beyond me. I pulled her closer with my hands, seeing the finish line up ahead.

"We're almost there!"

"Well then stop talking and get us there! I want pizza." And at the same time she said that, and we were reaching the line, a big blur smacked right into us, sending us spiraling to the gym floor. I heard the skidding and instnatly knew that Annabeth had gotten burned some how. "Damn it!" She yelled as she jerked her right hand, which was attached to my left hand. I looked up to see who had pushed us and saw Ethan Nakamura with a smug smile, and Rachel, holding her blind fold, and looking like she'd rather die than have to spend the night with that guy. If I was in her place, I'd feel exactly the same. I grabbed Annabeth's hand and slowly helped pull her up with me, undoing her blind fold and meeting her angry, narrowed eyes.

"What the hell was that? That's cheating, Nakamura!" He shrugged and ran his free hand through his hair slowly, staring at Annabeth like she was a piece of meat and tracing the outline of her body. I wanted to kill him right then.

"They never really gave rules for that though." He replied with a small smile. That is, before Coach gave him a glare and benched him from the next game in front of everyone. Ethan huffed and tried to cross his arms over his chest, but failed because of the handcuffs.

"Whatever, you guys cheated." Before I could open my mouth, Annabeth stepped up and placed her free hand on her hip.

"First of all, we didn't cheat, you did. Second of all, stop using guys to address a group of mix-gender people as guy means predominantly male, and we're a pair of female and male. If you think that there's nothing wrong with calling a mix-gender group of people guys, then call a mix-gender group of people girls and see how they react." She finished strongly, and I smirked at the fact that he'd tried to challenge the captain of the varsity debate team.

"Jackson! Chase! You get first dibs because you guys officially crossed the line before Nakamura." Annabeth and I high fived with out free hands before Annabeth quietly flipped Ethan off with a smirk. "So, what room do you guys want in the building?" We looked at each other briefly before she answered for the both of us.

"Band hall."

* * *

The band hall might've been the roomiest and comfiest place to reside in the entire building. It had the best air conditioning, the best lighting, and surprisingly, the best overall smell.

"So, where do you want to set up camp?" Annabeth asked, carrying a pizza box with her left hand, and our bags with our joined hands.

"How about right in the middle?" I asked in a tone that aksed, _well where else are we supposed to go_? She looked up at me with a curved eyebrow.

"Are you being a smart ass? That's my job." She answered with a smirk before we walked to the middle and dropped the bags down. I checked my phone and yawned as I read the time. It was 1:34 in the morning, and I was completely exhausted. We sat down on the floor together and unloaded our bags.

"You brought a blanket? You're my hero." Annabeth declared as she unfolded it and layed it across the floor. I gave her a smile and set camp up around us, pulling out pillows and setting them down. We lied down next to each other, resting our heads on our respective pillows and letting out a breath.

"I'm everyone's hero." I mumbled quietly, draping a blanket over us.

"Hm, you're funny."

"I know I am."

"Shut up."

"Why should I?"

"Because I'm trying to sleep."

"Well so I am."

"Okay, good."

"Okay, good." We stared at each other before we both bursted out laughing and she pulled herself into my side, warming my body, and letting out a small laugh. "So... About Malcolm." I felt her tense as she set her head on my shoulder.

"What about him?"

"You have every right to be mad." I said honestly, sympathizing with her. I knew that what Malcolm and Thalia were going through right now was hard, but the way he talked to her today was so disrespectful. Just because he was just her sister didn't mean that she shouldn't have the right to care, which was basically what Malcolm was implying. She looked up at me with those eyes of hers and I froze a little inside.

"Yeah?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, you have a right to feel what you need to feel, especially with the way he treated you. But also don't forget that maybe that was an in moment thing, and sometimes people say things they don't mean when they're upset. You're still his sister, he still cares about you."

"Well if he did, he would've shown it instead of yelling at me for trying to care and be worried for him." She argued, but I stopped her.

"No, I know that what he said and did was wrong, but you have to understand he cares about you a lot. Don't doubt that. He's always been there for you before. If there's stuff going on in his life, I'm not telling you to cut him slack, I'm just saying to not doubt how much he cares for you. But being mad? Yes. Be mad. You should be mad." She smiled at me from under her lashes and shut her eyes quietly.

"Okay. I'll be mad, then." And then she tried to make herself comfortable next to me- although it was hard considering the handcuffs. As I was falling asleep, and our breaths aligned with each other, I heard a mumbled statement. "You know, I hope you feel lucky because you might be the first person I admit they're right to. I think you're changing me."

And then I couldn't sleep because her words had impacted me so much. I was awake after she had shut her eyes again. I was awake when her light snores filled the room. And even though I hate to admit it, I was awake when I consciously chose to wrap an arm around her and lock our handcuffed hands together.

* * *

**AN: So... What'd you guys think? Let me knowwwwww. I love and need feedback like crazy, so please, give it to me! I might not update for a while because of my debate camp thing, but I promise as soon as I get back, I'll work on chapter nine. Love you guys, drop a review, till next time!-ShyGal**


	9. Fake Rain Showers

**Encounters**

**AN: I'M BACK. OH MY GOSH YAYYY. I've been dying to update but I really really haven't had time, I started band camp a couple weeks back and it's been hell, I've barely had any time to breath. Anyway, I'm so incredibly happy with the amount of reviews I got last chapter! I got so many more than I thought I would, so thank you guys! Also, one of the reviewers mentioned something about where the dance team would fit into the rivalry, I tried to incorporate that in there a bit. I'm not gonna spend too much time on my AN because I've kept you guys waiting long enough, so yeah. That's it. **

**Annabeth**

My morning, to sum things up, was a complete and utter piece of shit. You'd think that after that nice and heart warming night of bonding with Percy, everything would be all warm and fuzzy and we'd be the best of friends, waking up in the best of moods and skipping down the hallways of Goode. Well, no. Sorry. Apparently life isn't just for shits and giggles.

First, it started when I woke up. I had a sore wrist because my wrist was being strained from the handcuffs and there was nothing I could do about it until we got hand on the keys, so there I was, trying to ignore the pain in my wrist, and doing anything in my power to keep my eyes closed, desperate to perserve the little sleep left in my body.

After I couldn't possibly fight off the feeling of waking up any longer, my eyes sprung open and adjusted to the dim lights of the bandhall. I glanced around until my eyes landed on the guy lying next to me. His hair was so long in the front that it fell into his closed eyes, and his mouth was slightly ajar, a small puddle of drool pooling up by his cheek. I tried to hold in my laughter as I scooted away from him as much as I could without A) straining my wrist even more and B) waking the idiot next to me up.

That guy was more caring than he would ever let on, and it shocked me. I would've never thought he'd be the type of person to stick around. The thought banged around in my head while I examined his thick dark eyebrows as they scrunched up together as if he was deep in thought. Suddenly, his eyes flipped open and I was met with the most intense stare I'd ever witness.

For half a second, the humming from the lights above us stopped and I took time to admire how deep and profound Percy's eyes really were. And then that time ended and I looked away quietly, blurting out the first thing that came to mind.

"You know, you drool in your sleep." I glanced at him as his eyes widened and he wiped the drool from the edge of his mouth while I tried and failed to hold in my laughter.

"Alright smart ass, you win the trophy, congrats." He replied, his voice sounding rough and raspy from just waking up. The sound brought chills to my spine and I didn't know why. He took his right hand to rub his eye and ended up dragging my left one with it. "What time is it, Blondie?"

"Well, considering the fact that we decided to sleep in the middle of the band hall and not anywhere near an outlet, I can't tell you what the time is because my phone is completely dead. " I'd snapped, and that led to the second horrible event in my morning. The argument. Remember when I said Percy and I still bicker? Well, this was one example. Now, I couldn't even remember what we were arguing about, but I did remember that it completely spoiled my morning.

After we were both heated and so red at the face we looked like lobsters, Percy suggested we go back to the gym so we could get our cuffs unlocked. That, my friends, was when the third horrible event commenced. This next event will be split up into three parts.

The first part, was what most would expect. The usual. The yelling and arguing between the cheerleaders and the footballers. Malcolm was yelling at Drew and pointing at her with his free hand, people were running solely for the purpose of dragging their buddy around, and the screams that filled the gym were so loud you could break an eardrum. It was complete chaos.

The second part occurred after everyone grouped back into the gym. Apparently, we got word that one of Goode's dance team members was found vandalizing the football locker room last night. Now, the dance team and the cheerleaders, though previously despising each other, bonded over our one common denominator. Absolutely _loathing_ the football team. Ever since what the entire population of Goode calls "The Bond", the dancers and cheerleaders have had each other's backs like you wouldn't believe.

No one ever knew exactly _why_ the dance team had it out for the football players, they just did. In addition to that, it was just a known fact that the football team was known for screwing with people-not like that- so it wouldn't be a surprise to me if suddenly the chess club announced their hatred for the football team too.

Now, the fact that a member of the dance team had vandalized the locker room wasn't the bad part- at least for the cheerleaders. The bad part, was when one of the football players accused the squad of letting the dance team member into the school to vandalize the locker room. Let me remind you that every person from our squad was handcuffed to another member from the football team, so this accusation would've been impossible to accomplish without waking up a football player.

Of course I tried to explain that to the team and both coaches, but none of these lunatic asswipes would listen to me. Both Coach Hedge and Ms. Valor knew that I was right, but apparently the football players were too busy sticking their heads up their asses that they couldn't use their common sense. After arguing with the football players for what seemed like forever, Coach Hedge and Ms. Valor decided that this whole bonding idea wasn't working, and decided to let us go early.

This, was the last part of the third horrible thing that happened in the morning. Now you might be wondering why getting released from a lock-in that I was mandatorily forced to be at was a bad thing. Well, let me explain. You see, in order for us to leave, we had to be un-handcuffed from our buddy. Well, Percy and I are the last ones, yeah? The coaches are looking for the key. Five minutes pass. Ten minutes pass. Twenty minutes pass. And then they come back. And then, they shoot us grim faces. And then, while Malcolm's leaning against the doorway waiting for me, Coach Hedge and Ms. Valor inform us that yes, they did misplace the key, and they're oh so sorry, and they'll get a copy from the company they got the cuffs from as soon as they can.

So I'm trying to breath. Trying to stay calm. You know, trying to do all the Annabeth like things I'm required to do because I'm, well, Annabeth, and if Annabeth doesn't act like Annabeth, it's bizzare, and wrong, and some strange abnormality because apparently I'm not allowed to feel things just like everyone else. So I ask them how long they think it'll take for them to get a copy. And you know what they said? Probably, a day. A DAY. And that, ladies and gentleman, was when I completely, lost my shit. Race to the current time, where I'm currently dragging Percy out of the gym, past my brother, and to the band hall.

"Annabeth, calm down, alright?" Malcolm yelled as Percy tried to keep up with my brisk pace. I barged through the doors and headed for the middle of the room, stooping down and shoving my belongings in my bag. "Anna, listen, this'll all be-"

"Okay, yeah, I know. I don't need you to tell me what I know. I don't wanna be more of a bother to you than I already am." I snapped, swiveling around with my bag in hand. Something flashed through Malcom's bright blue eyes, and for half a second, I felt horrible for hurting him. But then I remembered last night, and the guilt washed away.

"Look, Anna, I was hoping we could talk today. About everything." He glanced at Percy for a split second as my face softened. He seemed sincere, and I did have to remember what Percy said. I had to give him a chance. I let out a breath quietly and squeezed the bridge between my eyes.

"I want to talk. But not today, while I'm handcuffed to this one." I paused, thinking about what the next twenty four hours meant and tried not to cringe. What was supposed to happen when one of us needed to go to the bathroom?

"Okay. Look, I'll take you guys' stuff and take them down to Percy's place. I'll probably drop his car down there too since you guys can't drive handcuffed to each other." He said, ruffling his hair. I nodded quietly as Percy handed him his stuff. "You guys are gonna have to walk, you know. All of this stuff will fill up the back, not both of you will be able to come, and since you guys are handcuffed..." I shut my eyes and groaned. Of course, this morning was just getting better and better.

* * *

"Blondie, will you slow down?" Percy asked for the billionth time since leaving Goode. I was walking so fast, the track team at our school should've thought of recruiting me. We were walking towards some downtown area in Long Island, trying to head to Percy's house. We were misguided, hungry, and still handcuffed. I was so infuriated with the whole situation, and this was one of those times where I couldn't run away. I'm sure this problem was minimal when in comparison to other problems in the world, but whenever I faced a problem I just ran away.

I know that's a horrible strategy, but maybe I didn't always want to step up to the plate and do the right thing. Maybe I needed liberation somehow. Maybe running away from my problems was my way of accomplishing that.

"Annabeth, you're not going to accomplish anything by just pushing everyone away and not accepting help." Percy declared, stopping in his tracks and making me stop with him. He flashed me a smile and I wanted to curl up in disgust, but I couldn't find it in me.

"How can you be so happy in the situation we're in? Do you even realize what this means?" I replied in a bored tone, wanting to move, wanting to leave, wanting to do anything other than stand there, avoiding his eyes and trying to deal with my life without involving anyone else other than myself. I was forced to look up, though, when Percy let out a small chuckle, slightly pressing the back of his hand against mine.

"Why? Because we're gonna be okay, Blondie. You gotta have a little faith."

"Faith?" His eyebrows scrunched together at my bewildered expression and he laughed.

"Well, yeah. Look on the bright side." I scoffed loudly, gesturing down to our cuffed wrists and wondering how in the world there could be a bright side for this.

"What bright side?" He pretended to think, running his fingers through his hair with his free hand, and biting on his lip. Finally, after a minute, he looked up and smirked.

"Ah, well, you see young Blondie. I'm currently handcuffed to an amazingly bright girl with amazingly bright eyes and an amazingly bright future. I could be handcuffed to anyone, I could be handcuffed to Drew for god's sake. But I'm handcuffed to you. And you're pretty fucking awesome. You see, Blondie, this situation could be so much worse. We could be handcuffed to someone we absolutely despise. Luckily, we're not. We're handcuffed to each other, which means that this situation is significantly easier for the both of us because we're moderatley comfortable with each other. And you know what? There's no one I'd rather be handcuffed to." We'd started walking again, headed towards the water fountains around all the shopping centers in the downtown area.

I held my breath and shook my head at him, supressing the smile that was threatening to come out. Something inside me stirred, but I pushed it down, trying to picture Malcolm' brotherly vibe surrounding Percy, while at the same time thinking about my seemingly endless crush on Jason, that recently, had started to become not so endless.

I didn't know what it was, I really, really didn't. But when Percy brought up Jason at the lock-in, I didn't automatically flutter inside like I would before. Maybe it was just because I was in the moment, but I knew something had definitley changed. Problem was, I didn't know what it was.

"Oh, whatever, Percy. You're just screwing with me."

"Umm, actually no, I don't think I am. If I was I'd probably get arrested considering the fact that we're in a public place, and probably die because you're my best friend's sister, and-" I cut him off by punching him with my free hand.

"You know that's not what I meant you little pervert." He laughed, his eyes crinkling on the sides, and I was momentarily captivated. He seemed so relaxed, so care free, and somehow so completely happy.

"Come on, you know you wanna laugh."

"There's nothing funny about this." I said, but I couldn't even believe my own words as my facade started to falter. Apparently what I said wasn't the right answer because next thing I know, he's walking ahead of me, setting our stuff down on a bench, and turning back with determination written all over his face. I would've cowered away if there was any way to.

"There's nothing funny about this? Are you sure?"

"Well-"

"Because I can make it funny." He assured, getting even closer than we already were to each other and flashing me a small smirk.

"Percy-" Before I could even blink, he scooped me up in his arms- which let me just tell you is difficult to do with one of his wrists tied up with mine- and ran into the water fountains. I let out a scream of protest as the cold water hit us, and thrashed against his chest.

"What the hell are you doing?!" I yelled over the roar of the water and his loud laughter. He set me down and flashed me a huge smile.

"I'm making you smile, Annabeth. You need to lighten up." And then he ran around, dragging me with him and stepping on the water shooting up from the ground. Parents sitting on the benches, and the little kids playing in the fountain stopped and stared as we, or in their eyes two weird teenagers, who they probably thought were criminals considering we were in handcuffs, ran around a fountain. I yelped as Percy took a sharp turn, and I whipped to the left after him, finally realeasing the smile that I'd been holding back for so long.

"You having fun yet?" He questioned with a quirk of his brow. I smirked and ran in front, causing him to have to follow me.

"You could say that." I answered after a minute, and he pulled on the handcuffs till I had to turn around. I crashed into his chest, and for the first time since I met the guy, was envious of the fact that he towered over me.

"Oh, admit it. You love me, you're happy, and right now, you're having fun." The water made his long hair fall into his eyes and I smiled wide as I reached up and pushed it back, away from his forehead. His eyes softened as soon as my hand made contact with his skin, and I raised an eyebrow before dropping my hand.

"Okay." The look of surprise that etched his face was completely priceless, and I busted out laughing before I could get another word out. The small plaza suddenly filled with some unknown song, and Percy gave me a look before bowing and flashing me a grin.

"Well, Blondie, now that you've declared you're oficially having fun, may I have this dance?"

"Well I don't really have a choice, but yes, of course." And no sooner had I answered, he grabbed my hand, and we danced our afternoon away in the fountain.

* * *

After some debate, Percy and I finally decided that, since one of us had to stay the night at somebody else's house, I would make the sacrifice and stay at his house. We decided on the grounds that I was still pretty shaken up over what had happened before the lock-in, and Helen would go ballistic if she realized that being handcuffed together meant sleeping in the same place as Percy.

As soon as we got to his house, the problem rose. You know. _The_ problem. It was around early evening, and I was sitting in the living room couch, waiting for Sally to get home. Percy had called ahead and told Sally that I had to come over because we were in a situation.

We were just minding our own buisness, watching tv, and then I just happened to glance Percy's way and realized his eyes were screwed shut and he had clamped down on his bottom lip. He gave me this look, like he was so sorry, and that's when I knew.

"Annabeth, I really have to take a piss." My eyes grew wide, with realization that there was no way that we could hold in our bodily fluids for an entire twenty four hours. So now, here I was in Percy's bathroom, with towels in hand, discussing the game plan. We had initially just decided to pee and be done, but after some time, we realized that at some point, some way, we were gonna have to shower, and if we already had to be in the bathroom with each other, why not try to get everything done at once?

"Alright, so this is how we'll do it. I'll pee while you take a shower, and then we'll switch. We can undress in the shower. Do not pee in the shower Percy, or I'll never speak to you again. The towels will be on the top of the toilet so we can reach out and grab them as soon as we're done. Sound good?" Lucky for us, the toilet in the bathroom was incredibly close to the shower, which meant that one of us could go while the other washed.

"Yeah, let's do it." And so it began. I sat down on the toilet, letting Percy step into the shower before I unzipped my pants. I grimaced as he started throwing his clothes over the top of the shower, watching it land in a pile in the corner. The water in the shower flipped on, and then there was no going back.

"Annabeth, why didn't you just let me pee first? I really need to pee." He whimpered, and the mental image that popped in my mind was not decent in the slightest. I shut my eyes and groaned. What a situation.

"Percy be strong and hold your pee in!"

"I've been holding it in for hours!" I could almost imagine him scrubbing himself down in a hurry, trying not to waste time.

"Well then another five minutes shouldn't be that hard! Just hurry, okay? I don't wanna step in your pee." I said, tying up my hair and preparing myself for when it was my turn to step in the shower.

"Okay, I'm done, pass me the towel." He asked, his voice sounding slightly irritated. I passed him the towel and no sooner had I given it to him, he stepped out of the shower with it wrapped around his waist. I instantly looked up, averting his eyes as blood rushed to my cheeks. I'm not blind, I mean the guy is attractive, and I knew that if I ogled him like any other girl would take the chance to, I'd turn this situation a thousand times more awkward.

I climbed into the shower in a rush, peeling off my clothes, tossing my clothes out, and washing myself down quickly, only earning one perverted comment from Percy where he said he didnt peg me as the Victoria's Secret type of girl in regards to my undergarments.

As soon as I was done, Percy passed me the towel and I wrapped it tightly around myself before stepping out of the shower and grabbing my clothing, locking eyes with Percy for half a second before we both headed out of the bathroom and into his room.

"That didn't go as bad as you thought it would, did it?" Percy asked as he held the door open for me, and I silently prayed that he didn't just jinx us. I slid in and shut the door behind me, rolling my eyes at him.

"I'd still rather be in a situation where I can take a shower without worry that some guy will see me naked because we're handcuffed to each other." I said, and that's when it all went down hill, literally.

Let me tell you something about Percy. He's not a very organized person. Which means his room was also not very organized. Which means there were random items all over his room. And me, not watching where I was going, just happened to trip on one of his shoes, sending me towards Percy's chest, and both of us to the floor.

The moments that followed that fall might've been the most awkward and confusing moments I'd ever experienced in the history of forever. The breath got knocked out of Percy's chest as we hit the floor and he wrapped his left arm around me as I landed on top of him, one hand slapped straight on his chest, the other right by his head, with a not very satisfying thud. And you'd think that at least one of us would make the effort to move, or do anything to change the current situation. But apparetly we're both idiots because we didn't, we just layed there staring at each other with some type of expression that I couldn't even read, and trust me, I can read everything.

Maybe all logic fled my body the instant we hit the floor, or maybe I accidentally hit my head and didn't notice. But once our eyes locked it was almost impossible to rip mine away from his. My hand seemed to burn from where it was touching his chest, and his grip on me seemed to tighten ever so slightly.

I'd never seen his eyes so big, and for some reason that scared me. Me, being the amazing problem solver I am, stupidly tried to fix the situation by muttering some random sentence about how he was really stupid, but there was no bite behind my words so it meant nothing. Whatever trance we were in ended when his phone started playing the Barney I love you song. His face errupted in flames, and I'm sure mine did too as I helped myself up and then offered a hand to him.

I tried to avert his eyes, cussing myself out on the inside and holding on to my clothes while he answered his phone, quickly explaining that the reason for the ringtone was because it was his mom. We stood there awkwardly next to each other as he assured his mom that we were fine, and said okay mom about one thousand times before he hung up the phone and threw it on the bed. And then there was silence.

I've always hated silence. If people are silent, it means something's different, or they're disinterested, or some situation has happened that has upset them. Silence was always a bad sign, on any occasion other than when you were in a classroom, and even then if the whole class is silent at once, there's definitley something wrong. Nevertheless, it was impossible to ignore the silence between Percy and I considering the fact we were the only ones there, and we always talked back and forth. After what seemed like forever, I looked up at him with a determined expression, completely ready to get out of this god damn awkard phase we were in. So I said what we were both avoiding.

"We have to change." His eyebrows raised in surprise and I inwardly laughed at him. Did he think we were gonna be in our towels until we got hand on the keys? We had to change, it was inevitable.

"Alright, how do you wanna do it?"

"I think we should just both turn around and hope for the best." I answered before turning around because in all honesty, there wasn't much else we could do. It's not like we could go to seperate rooms because of the obvious problem. To my surprise, he turned around without asking any questions, and hesitantly, we both began getting changed.

Let me tell you pulling on undergarments and pants with one hand proves to be just a tad bit difficult. The whole ordeal took just about ten minutes, with me having to grab one of Percy's extra long, extra large no sleeve shirts to wear because I couldn't wear any other shirts because I couldn't pull the sleeve up because of the handcuffs. It was a nightmare. I fell against Percy's back at least five times, and I silently thanked god that he had clothes on when I did.

* * *

"Annabeth, will you please hurry up? I'm starving. My stomach is literally eating itself." Percy complained as I set my clothes down by his drawer and stood up promptly. I turned to him and rolled my eyes.

"That's not possible." I informed as we left his room and headed towards the kitchen. Neither of us had brought up the awkward moment that had gone down earlier, and I was perfectly okay with that. I didn't know what had happened, or what was wrong with me, and I really didn't want to find out so I just shut my trap.

"Well according to the I'mStarvingAndIfIDon'tEatNowI'llDie foundation, it is if you're me."

"And who started that foundation exactly?"

"Me." He answered with a smirk as he reached into the fridge and pulled out a box of pizza. I glanced around the kitchen quietly as he put the pizza in the microwave and set the timer. As I was looking around, something taped on the refrigirator door caught my eye.

There was a picture of a man who seemed to be in his early thirties, and the guy looked exactly like Percy. His hair was combed to the side and his eyes were bright with amusement. A girl with long chestnut hair stood beside him with her back turned, and by her stood a younger depiction of Sally holding a little bundle in her arms who I could only assume was Percy.

"Is that your dad?" I asked curiously, running a hand over the picture. Something about it was tugging the back of my brain and I couldn't figure out what it was. I could feel Percy's body shift until he was right behind me and I held my breath. After what happened that afternoon, his short distance made the hairs on the back of my neck stand.

"Yeah, that was a couple months after I was born. It's really old, but one of the only photos we have of him, so we always keep it up here to remember him." He explained, and I nodded absentmindlessly.

"You look so much like him." I said quietly, and when he didn't respond I cautiously looked back at him, completely aware of how close we were. His face was blank, his dark eyebrows scrunched together, his lips pressed in a thin line. Left over water droplets from the shower ran down his neck, and his still wet hair was swept back. He looked so vulnerable that he reminded me of a lost puppy. "Percy?"

He looked down at me momentarily and flashed me a crooked grin, but it was plastered and broken, not believeable in the slightest. I raised an eyebrow at him and his face fell. He knew I wasn't falling for it.

"It's just... Sometimes I wish I had more than just my looks to connect with him. Everyone always says that I'm the spitting image of my dad, but no one who knew him ever says oh you have his work ethic, oh you have his ambition, oh you have his free spirit. It's always physical. Maybe I don't want to be his physical copy anymore. I want to be more like him in a different way." I stared at him for half a second before I grabbed his hand and dragged him to the couch, plopping down and crossing my legs.

"What do you know about him?" I asked after he had sat down. He looked stiff as a board, but I squeezed his hand to reassure him. He cracked a smile and leaned back against the couch.

"Mom used to talk about him a lot. She says that when I was small, he'd sit down by my bed and read me bed time stories until I fell asleep. So he was caring. Whenever she talked about him she raved about his cooking, said his food was the best she's ever tried. He was obsessed with the ocean, loved to surf, and loved the beach. Mom says that a lot of people were jealous of him because of how succesful he was. He was brilliant, always worked hard for what he wanted, but also adventurous and spontaneous. She always told me that he lived vicariously through others. He gave her the world and so much more. According to her, he was the most amazing guy she'd ever met. A lot of people cared about him."

"Well, seems to me like you guys do have something in common other than looks." I answered, and he shot me a confused look. "Percy, you're one of the most caring people I've ever met. Not just anyone would take the time to hear about what's wrong with me and my messed up my life. And can you make ramen noodles?" He nodded with a small smile. "Then you're a better cook than I am. A lot of people are jealous of you because of how great you are at sports, and you seem like a pretty improvisational kind of person. You're an amazing guy. And even though I know a lot of people care about you, I can assure you now that I do. So really, you and your dad have a lot more in common than you think." He stared at me quietly, something flashing in his eyes, and squeezed my hand.

"Thank you, Annabeth. You're something else." And as his fingers unlaced themselves from mine, I felt something inside me shift. I was just confused as to what it was.

* * *

**AN: PERCY AND ANNABETH ARE HAVING SENTI TALKS. I actually really wasn't proud of this chapter, but I felt like if I rewrote it, it would take too long and I didn't wanna keep you guys waiting any more. Well, let me know what you think, was it bad, was it good? Review! Till next time- ShyGal**


	10. The Mysterious Case of the Problem

**Chapter 10: The Mysterious Case of the Problem**

**Encounters**

**AN: I'm so sorry. I don't even know what to say. I know my absence was so long, but to be completely honest, I had the largest and most intense writer's block I've ever had. I had this story mapped out for forever, but then I wanted Thalia and Malcolm to be a thing, so I had to change the format up a bit, and let's just say that kind of impacted some other huge plot point for the story. I've also been so busy with marching season and debate, and trying to keep up my class rank. I'm just so sorry. But I swear I won't ever give up on this story, I have so many awesome ideas for it all. I'm sorry. I'll shut up now. **

**Percy**

There was a problem. It was a special problem, which had many problems. The first problem with the problem, was that I didn't know what the problem was, I just knew it existed. It's kind of like believing in a place you've never been to. You can't prove its existence yourself, yet you just know it's there. For example, I've never been to Japan, yet I know of its existence. The problem was recognizable in the way that something familiar looks familiar, but the problem with the problem was that I couldn't tell the characteristics of it and if I could, I probably wouldn't be able to tell the characteristics of the characteristics.

The second problem with the problem, was that I didn't know what caused it, or how it even became a problem in the first place. Maybe there were signs that I ignored, or maybe I chose to ignore them, but it felt as if the problem just popped out of nowhere. I didn't understand how I could be so oblivious if there were signs that a problem was developing, but now any attempts at preventing the problem were futile, and I had to focus on getting rid of it instead.

That leads me to the third problem with the problem. Since I didn't really know what the problem was, I couldn't get rid of it. It just felt like a shift. It felt like someone had turned the world around and now everything was upside down and I couldn't figure out what was wrong or right. The problem was wreaking havoc on my life, and I didn't even know what it was.

The discovery of the problem was confusing to the highest degree. It was thanks to my urgently needing to go the bathroom that the problem was discovered. Annabeth and I had spent the night eating cookie dough and watching Supernatural on Netflix, with her asking who the characters were every five minutes, and posing questions about the logic of the show. At one point, she started falling asleep, and so with my help, we trudged over to my room and we crashed instantly. But, I'd had one too many , and so I woke up not even two hours later needing to go to the bathroom.

So, naturally, I turn to the person I'm handcuffed to because I kinda can't go to the bathroom if said person is completely unresponsive. And that's when the problem emerged. Annabeth Chase, this badass cheerleader, this headstrong debater, this stubborn girl who didn't take anybody's shit with open arms. Annabeth Chase, the girl who dumped coffee on my head because I was being an asshole. Annabeth Chase, little sister of my best friend, and the person who I was handcuffed to. She was lying there, resting on my shoulder, her hair in her face, her lips slightly ajar, with a small puddle of drool near her face. She was making a small noise that sounded distinctly like a snore, and she was well tucked into my side in the fetus position, her cheeks lightly flushed.

And I had never seen anything more utterly adorable in my entire life. She looked as harmless as a kitten, which was a paradox because kittens are some of the most precious things in life, yet piss them off and they'll scratch your eyes out. That was the picture I had of Annabeth. She looked so peaceful, and seeing her so relaxed made me realize that she wasn't usually like this. She was usually so stressed she had no time to take a breath. It was a breath a fresh air to see her curled into a little ball, care free and just adorable. That was the only word that could come to mind because it was the only way I could describe her. Adorable.

This was what led to the discovery of the problem. This was the shift. Something felt different, and something stirred inside me. But I didn't know what the fuck it was, all I knew was that it was there, and that whatever the problem was, it would cause more problems if I didn't get rid of it.

So now, fly to the present time. It's three in the morning, I'm lying here, still needing to go to the bathroom, but sacrificing because the adorable human being next to me is snoring away in a deep sleep, and it'd be pretty rude to wake her up. I'm running my thumb over the adorable human being's index finger, and thinking about the problem that I couldn't understand. And my mind is racing. The only thing comforting me is the aligned breaths that are being produced by the adorable human being.

The adorable human being moves and I hold my breath until I hear her collective snores again. And then I relax as I become assured that I haven't woken said person up. Repeat. I let out a quiet breath and glanced at the adorable human being and everything inside me just stops as I flash back to the night before, with the awkward moment we had after the shower.

Thinking about what had happened last night made the problem at hand just even more complicated. I didn't know how we ended up the way we did yesterday, but half of me thought that the time for that moment was cut too short, and the other half of me thanked everything that Mom called, or else I might've ended up doing something that I would've regretted, I just didn't know what. I was utterly confused, and I just didn't know what to do about anything, anymore, ever.

Suddenly, I was snapped out of my thoughts as the adorable human being next to me jerked haphazardly. At first I thought it might've just been a reflex, but when it happened again, I looked over at her and realized her face was scrunched up as if she was in pain and her breaths had become ragged and rough.

"Annabeth?" But the adorable human being didn't respond, instead she thrashed around even more, and a noise escaped the back of her throat that sounded like she was in pain. I shook her arm for response, but all I got was ragged breathing and mumbles. And then:

"No, no, no, please." And that's when it hit me. Adorable human being was going through a nightmare. I instantly grabbed her face with my free hand and gripped her hand with the other.

"Annabeth. Annabeth, wake up. Annabeth. Annabeth come on, please wake up. Annabeth." And then frantic bright eyes popped open and stared back at me. Some of her hair was stuck to her hair, and she was panting as hard as if she'd just run three miles straight. "Are you okay?"

"I don't- I can't, oh god." Her breaths were shallow, and she had sprung up as soon as her eyes had popped open. "I couldn't do anything, she just, I can't-"

"Shh, it's okay, calm down, calm down. You're okay, it was just a dream." I pushed her hair back with my hand as she shook her head frantically.

"No, you don't, you can't understand she was, she made me I didn't, it was the last thing." The panic and urgency in her voice made me wanna cringe.

"Hey. You'll be okay. Just breath, just slow down. Count to ten, take deep breaths, and calm down. Do you want some water?" She nodded quietly, but the quietness felt forced, like she was dying to say whatever she needed to, but instead was choking it down. I stretched over her and grabbed the water bottle on the night stand, not stopping to look down at her as I stretched back. I passed her the bottle and watched as she emptied it in a few gulps. Her breathing slowed, and instead of looking frantic, she just looked exhausted and worn down. I watched quietly as she tucked her knees into her chest and glanced at me.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" I asked tentatively because I knew that in these situations, some people were better left alone, and thought it was bad to be brought back to the place they were at. She hesitated, her teeth sinking into her lip as she fixed her hair around her head and tucked it behind her ear. I noticed the relaxed look she had while she was resting was gone, and she looked way tenser than she did before. Nevertheless, she was forever the adorable human being to me now because the mental image I had of her drooling cuteness was burned in my mind for the rest of time.

"It was just about Helen." She said vaguely after a while, and I gave her a confused look. She cleared her throat and looked away. "When Mom passed away, Dad wanted to cremate her body as a way for us to always be able to keep her near us, but we couldn't do that because when her body was found after the crash it was too broken up to recover, or at least that's what Dad told me. I wasn't allowed to see her remains, Dad said I was too young." She stopped and looked down, biting her lip so hard it looked like it could draw blood. I squeezed her hand reassuringly.  
I totally related to the parent thing. When I found out my dad went down in his flight, my mom forbade me from seeing his body. She said I was too young, said it would just hurt me more, but I didn't care. I was so mad she wouldn't let me see him that after it happened, I didn't talk to her for weeks on end. It was like, I never really got closure.

I heard a breath being taken in and looked over at her. I knew this couldn't have been easy for her, talking about her mom. She obviously held her mom at high standards, and the way that Helen talked about her must've affected her a lot.

"Malcolm wasn't allowed to see the remains either, even though he was older than me. Because we weren't ever allowed to really say goodbye, everything my mom owned was held at high standards. It was the only thing we really had left. When Helen married our Dad and found out Mom's possessions were still in the house, she demanded we throw them out, but I refused. So, one day, when Dad was at work, she made me choose between saving the possessions or letting Malcolm get tortured. She made me burn her clothing, tear up the pictures, destroy everything. The only things we had left were the ones that we'd hidden, which is why I have the jewelry box and some old sweaters. It was just so vivid. I feel like I completely betrayed her, I didn't mean to do it, I just-" I could hear her voice getting antsy again, and I pulled her closer into my side.

"It's not your fault, you had to choose, and you didn't have a choice. I'm sure if it were the other way around, Malcolm would've done the exact same thing." I said softly because at that point I knew there wasn't any right thing to say.

"I know, it's not like I regret it, I just feel like I lost a piece of my mom when I got rid of her things." She explained weakly as she pressed closer.

"It's okay. I understand. I'm sorry. But I'm sure if your mom were here, she'd be proud of who you've become. She would've understood what you did. I mean you love your brother." She didn't say anything for a while, and I just knew that she was thinking about what would've happened to Malcolm if she had saved the possessions. If she had thought selfishly for this one time. Minutes of silence went by, and then she laughed quietly and looked up at me with those eyes of her that could only belong to the adorable human being that she was. They were sad, yet held some light to them. Mostly she just looked tired.

"First of all, don't go spreading that around, I mean if everyone found out that I loved my brother people would think I've gone soft. Second of all, I find it funny that every time I've been in your bed, we've ended up talking about Malcolm."

"But you're soft already, Chase." Her eyes snapped to me and her eyebrow quirked, her mouth turning into a slight frown.  
"No I'm not."

"Yes, yes you are." I said, smiling slightly, the image of the adorable human being, being in her most adorable state, drooling and breathing heavily, all flushed and curled into a ball. My smile faltered as the image brought the thought of the problem that I couldn't understand back into my mind.

"NO." She said sternly, her eyes flashing dangerously for a second before they softened and she smirked. "I mean look at these guns, don't mess with me, I'll pummel you to the ground." She continued, and then proceeded to show me her guns by raising both of her arms and flexing, which resulted in her punching me in the face with our handcuffed hands.

"I think you need to go back to sleep, before you end up knocking the shit out of me." I answered as I reached up and rubbed the spot where she hit me with my free hand, trying not to laugh at how she let out this small little yawn and then curled up next to me without any complains at all. I watched quietly as her mesmerizing eyes slowly disappeared from my view, and her snores once again filled the room as I tucked a stray hair out of her face.

Something in my gut pulled and instantly all I wanted to do was hurl. I didn't understand what was happening, but I honestly didn't want to. I felt like maybe, being in oblivion for this one instance, was better than understanding what the problem really was.

* * *

Breakfast seemed to have us looking up in the beginning. Mom made us a ginormous breakfast to compensate for our unfortunate situation, but then she caught Annabeth staring at the picture on the refrigerator again and then some awkwardness ensued once Mom asked her if she were related to Frederick Chase by any chance, and she'd quirked an eyebrow and said yep, I'm his daughter, to which mom responded by raising her eyebrows, and not even trying to hide her wide eyes. That led to an inquiry from Annabeth about how she knew her Dad, which led to my mom making up some lie about how they were old school chums.

Basically, Annabeth left my house extremely confused, which was really rare for someone who knows literally everything. The drive over to the school was mostly silent, since my mom was driving us in my truck, due to the fact that neither Annabeth nor I could drive because of our current situation.

You'd think that having Annabeth handcuffed to me, having to sleep in the same room, in the same bed, with your parents knowing, would be the most awkward thing that could happen. You'd think it couldn't get any worse.

But nothing was worse than having to walk into Goode that Monday, still handcuffed to each other, wearing our wrinkled pajamas because obviously we couldn't change out of our clothes because of the fact that our shirts would not come off unless they were sleeveless. Having to put on sleeveless shirts was hard enough already for the pair of us, so there was just a tacit agreement that we wouldn't even try to change out of our clothes until we got hand on the keys.

This is how it went down. We walked up to the front doors, looking like complete piles of shit- and by us I mean just me because the adorable human being was never capable of looking anything less than adorable-, and Annabeth just gave me this rock hard look like she was just tired of it all, and it was now or never. And I'd just like to give you the mental image.

It was both of us, in sleeveless shirts, and old pajama bottoms. Annabeth looked like she was swimming in my clothes because they were so overly large on her, and the pants were basically falling off of her. My hair was sticking up all sorts of directions, I'm pretty sure I only had one sock on, and if we didn't hurry up, all the books would fall out of my bag.

I think we were fearing the worst. You know, in the high school movies, where all the hallways are crowded and then these really popular people walk in and everyone just stops whatever they're doing to look at them. We were kind of expecting that, except that people would look at us because of the circumstances. I mean first of all, we looked like we'd crawled out of a hole- again, I mean just myself. And second, and the most important, it was Annabeth and I. A football player and a cheerleader. Two members of rivaling teams at the high school, coming in together, handcuffed to each other. I mean, rumors were bound to fly.

And then guess what happened. We pushed the doors open. We walked in. And the hallways were empty. Beautifully and completely empty. You could hear a pin drop, how quiet and barren everything was. It seemed like the coast was clear, we could walk down to Coach Hedge's, ask for the key, and be on our merry way. It almost seemed too easy. There was a moment when Annabeth and I looked at each other, sending the other looks like they were so relieved. And then the bell rung, and our luck ran out because that's when we knew we had to haul ass to the athletics hall because we were about to get caught in the 8:30.

The 8:30 was a monster. It would eat you up and spit you out if you weren't careful. It had no mercy, it was just blood thirsty, and trust me, it was not something to play around with.

Every day, at exactly 8:30, the warning bell would ring around the school, signifying that we had ten minutes to get to class before we were late. Of course, students waited till the warning bell rang before they started making their way anywhere. But, Goode is a huge school. It would take you a while to get somewhere if you didn't plan accordingly.

So came to be the 8:30, the most dangerous passing period there ever was in the history of passing periods. The 8:30 was the period of time in which every student in the entire school scurried away to their classes. The fact that every student in the school is trying to run through each other calls for an insane traffic jam. People get trampled, stomped on, and shoved against the walls if you get in the wrong person's way.

The 8:30 gets so intense, that people plan out methods to get through it. It's like the school version of black Friday, people will hurt you if you don't run fast enough. Some people liked to form backpack trains, to ensure that they never lose the group they're part of because if one person gets left behind, that person is dead. Your group abandons you, they don't turn back, people get left behind. You think you have friends? Sorry to tell you that your friends will drop you if you become a burden to them during the 8:30. No one is loyal to you for those ten horrible minutes, it's everyone for themselves. You may think you're part of an alliance, but that alliance can easily break if you start causing trouble.

Others like to form herds, with the shortest on the inside and the tallest on the outside of the herd, so the people who are more likely to get lost have a better chance. Then, there are always the people that decided to wait it out and be late to class.

The month before, a lowly freshman lost his backpack train in the crowd. That freshman was found approximately six minutes later, curled up by the side of a locker with a sprained wrist. That's what the 8:30 will do to you, and Annabeth and I were about to get caught in it.

As soon as we heard that bell ring, we wasted no time in breaking into a sprint. We ran so fast down the hall that I thought one of my lungs was about to instantly collapse. The hall behind us filled in less than thirty seconds, and suddenly it turned into Annabeth and me running away from a giant ass wave of students who were also trying to run away. My eyes snapped to my left and I cringed as I saw a girl get shoved into the lockers. A backpack train broke up next to me, and suddenly the train dispersed, the members of the train frantically trying to keep up the pace with everyone else to avoid being run over by the faster runners.

It was madness. If I wasn't a football player, I think I would've been passed out on the ground already. I looked over at Annabeth to find her hair flying wildly over her face, and her eyes looking as if they were about to pop out of her skull. And then we saw it. The turn for the athletics hall. The sweaty, smelly hallway looked like heaven, and suddenly, Annabeth yanked us to the side, stopping us at a teacher's classroom.

My lungs burned, and I rested my head on the first thing it could find, which just happened to be Annabeth's forehead. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't think, I couldn't even comprehend what was happening. All I knew was that we'd made it through the 8:30 safely.

"Holy shit." Annabeth whispered, and I looked down at her. She ran her hands over her eyes and blinked. Her breathing had slowed, but she still looked exhausted. "That was one of the worst ones by far." I nodded and let out a slow breath as I lifted my head.

"Yeah. Definitely a bad one. Come on, the faster we get to the locker room, the faster we can get these cuffs off." And then we were off. We swerved through the hallways quickly, knowing that it was only a matter of time until the hallway was crowded once again. We slowed down our sprint to a fast pace, power walking through the athletics department. Finally, Coach Hedge's office came to light, and we wasted no time in marching straight in.

The sight before us confused me just as much as Annabeth. Coach Hedge was standing next to Ms. Valor, with Thalia and Malcolm sitting in the seats in front of Coach's desk. Malcolm's mouth was half open, but it snapped shut as soon as we walked in. There were at least five seconds of silence in which no words were said, and we all just stared at each other. Thalia was wearing a fearful look for the first time in her entire life, and her eyes instantly snapped away from Annabeth as she finally asked what was on her mind.

"Thalia? What are you doing here?" Thalia's mouth opened and closed like a fish until Ms. Valor spoke up for her.

"Thalia here was just expressing interest in the gymnastics team." Ms. Valor answered as she got up and dug in the drawer of Coach's desk, producing a key and then walking around and over to us.

"The gymnastics team? But Thalia-"

"Here, let me unlock the cuffs. I'm really sorry about this whole thing, really I don't know where the key went." Ms. Valor said as she unlocked our cuffs and our hands were freed.

"But-"

"If you'll excuse us, we have a conversation to finish. Your friend seems like she has tons of potential." And then we were pushed out of the door. Annabeth and I stood side by side, staring at the door for what seemed like forever. At least I had an idea of what they were talking about. Obviously it had something to do with Thalia's pregnancy, although why the coaches had to know about it was beyond me. Annabeth, however, knew nothing at all.

"Thalia hates anything physical though, there's no way she was looking into the gymnastics team." Annabeth announced out loud, as we rounded the corner towards the girl's locker room. I opted to say nothing because anything I could potentially say would end up with her more confused. When we reached the door, she walked in without a word and came back wearing the last things that were in her locker, which just happened to be my extra football shirt, and some random basketball shorts. She looked like she could kill the first person who said something stupid to her.

"You look-"

"Don't even try to tell me I look great." She said, cutting me off as she pulled her hair up. I held back my laughter as her eyebrows came together in frustration.

"But you do look great." I said as my laughter just poured out of me, and she shot me this look like she didn't believe a word that was coming out of my mouth.

"Do you want to die a slow and painful death, Jackson?" And as I looked up at her, I took the time to admire the way that she actually did look great. She looked comfortable, and ready to get through this bullshit day, and just like Annabeth should look. She looked like that girl who kicked my ass at my own video games weeks ago, sitting there with the controller in her hands, a determined look on her face, and her hair tied up like she didn't give a fuck about what anyone else said as long as she got to the next level. She looked like herself, and that's the only way I'd ever want her to look.

"If that means I get to compliment you again, then sure. But I wasn't lying. You look great, as always." And I watched her face go slack, turning a dull red as she registered my words, before I turned around quickly and tried not to hit myself upside the head for worsening the problem that I knew nothing about.

* * *

**AN: I'm really disappointed in myself, this chapter isn't good enough for you guys. I'm sorry, I know it's not the best, but I had to get this chapter in for Percy because the next chapter is gonna be revolving around the stuff in this chapter kind of. Anyway, I hope this was okay. I'm so so so sorry I've been gone, I promise I'll try to make the next couple updates better and faster. Anyway, drop a review, it'd be greatly appreciated. Till next time (which will be sooner I'm sorry)- ShyGal**


	11. Less Blue More Green

**Chapter 11: Less Blue More Green**

**Encounters**

**AN:**

**Annabeth**

"Anna?" My eyes snapped up and away from my calculus work and met Jason's electrifying blue ones. There was a moment where nothing was said, and I just gaped up at him, wondering if maybe I was imagining that he was willingly coming up to me and starting a conversation. Realizing that I was gaping slightly, I closed my mouth quickly and cleared my throat.

"Yep, that's my name, last time I checked." I replied coolly, scribbling the date down on the side of my class work. Jason's light chuckle filled my ears and I forced myself to keep writing. Calculus was the only class I had with Jason now, so not only was it the hardest because the course material was unbearably difficult, but it was also hell because of the distraction of him every single day. Recently though, I found it easier to stop myself from being distracted by his presence. I let out a breath and started on the first problem. I stopped as soon as Jason sat down in the seat next to me. Finally, after me breathing, and warning myself to not freak out, I set my pencil down and looked up at him.

"Can I help you with something?"

"Yes, you can actually." He replied with a brief smile, his eyebrows drawing together slightly as he glanced down at his paper.

"Alright, what with?"

"So, there's two things. First, I'm having some trouble with this calculus problem." He slid the paper over to me and I stared down at it. Of course he'd only come talk to me about work. He wanted me for the grade. I nodded curtly and slid it back to him.

"So we're trying to find the limits for these problems, does that make sense?"

"Yeah. So on this problem, would the limit be undefined because the denominator is zero?"

"Well…It depends, really. If the denominator is a zero, and the top is a whole number, the limit is undefined. But if the numerator is a zero, that's a different story, and you have to go and work out more steps. So for this problem, figure out the denominator and numerators first, and then we'll see if you need to keep going or if the limit is undefined." And with that, I turned back to my own work and avoided his gaze. We worked silently for a few minutes, and all that could be heard was the scribbling of our pencils on the paper. After some time, he turned to me and slid the paper over. I peered down at it carefully and corrected the few mistakes he'd left on his work, then slid it back and pushed my hair out of my face.

"It looks okay, from what I can see." I said after he still hadn't moved from the spot minutes later. He cleared his throat and I met his eyes again.

"Right. Thanks. So, um, now to the other thing." I set my pencil down, knowing this was gonna be something rich. "I, um, need help."

"Yes, I can tell that much." I replied sarcastically, and when he didn't crack a smile mine fell. "Okay, what is it?"

"I… I have a problem with my _pipes._" And by the way he said pipes I could tell that Pipes actually meant Piper, and he was about to confess the thing I'd been suspecting for months on end. I nodded quietly to signal him to continue. "I've always been really fond of my house pipes, ever since middle school after the incident. But the thing is, I've had a really good… um, associations with my pipes in recent months. I've started growing closer to my pipes, if that makes sense. But my pipes think that I'm just going to replace them with some other ones, and there's a lot of complications with the feud, but I want me and my pipes to be a thing. An official thing. But I think my pipes don't really believe that I want that. And I don't know how this could ever work with the feud. Is this making any sense?" He said the entire thing in a rushed whisper, trying to prevent anyone from listening in.

I covered my face with my hands and let out a small breath. So in an interpreted version, Jason liked Piper, they'd been seeing each other for the past couple months in secret, and now he really wanted it to be official but Piper didn't really believe that he truly wanted to be with him.

You'd think I'd be really frustrated and upset about the fact that the guy I liked had been with one of my best friends for months without anyone knowing, but really, it upset me more how complicated the situation seemed to be. There was no way that they could have an official relationship like Jason wanted without risk of tipping off one of the teams. Someone would notice that something was up.

Knowing that he was with Piper didn't hurt as much as I thought it would, mainly because I suspected he liked her anyway, and it just confirmed that there were no feelings for me. In a way, I was almost glad that now I knew his feelings weren't returned because I wasn't as paranoid. And somehow, deep inside me, I had a sensation that I really didn't even care that he didn't like me. I was over it, I'd been chasing the guy for who knows how long, this just gave me an even better reason to move on. So I looked up quietly after some time and met his eyes. The guy looked so desperate for help that I actually pitied him.

"Why are you even telling me this?" I asked curiously, turning back to my calculus work in an attempt to clear my head.

"You know about pipes more than anyone."

"But I'm also a head cheerleader, Jason. I'm supposed to turn this stuff in to the captain." He quirked an eyebrow at me and took the pencil from my hands.

"I know you're a head. But I also know that you don't agree with the rules about the feud. You follow them, but you don't agree with them. You wouldn't turn anyone in. And you don't have a captain at the moment, there's no one to turn us in to. Besides, I wouldn't be coming to you about something like this, something this risky, if it didn't matter to me as much as it does." I considered his words for a moment and then snatched my pencil back from him.

"Well you're wrong about one thing. We do have a captain. It's the pipes." I said quietly, pretending to be working on the next problem.

Yes it was true, Miss Piper Mclean had finally scored the captain position she always wanted. Drew, unfortunately, was still in a position of power solely because she was good at what we did. She was now assistant captain. Still, Piper had more control over Drew, and I expected nothing from the best from her. I had high hopes that she'd mold our team into an even better one. As soon as I shed this new information, Jason's eyes lit up and he suppressed a smile.

"I didn't know that, that's so great. But that just helps our situation even more. With Piper being captain, we can change the rule. We can stop the feud." I shook my head and dropped my voice to the quietest whisper I could manage.

"It doesn't work like that, Jason. Drew is still assistant. If Piper tries to change the rule, there's no guarantee that everyone will agree with her. There are a lot of cheerleaders. Some of them agree with the rule, some don't. If she tries to do that, and enough people disagree with her, she could be impeached as captain, which would mean that Drew would be captain again, and she would surely get Piper kicked off the team." I explained quickly, truly feeling sorry about the situation he was in. It seemed like everywhere he turned, he was at a dead end.

"What do I do then?" And the question sounded so defeated that my heart cracked on the inside. Despite him not liking him, Jason had always been good to me. He was always so nice, and caring, and I just wanted him to be happy.

"Look. You're kind of in a tough situation right now. I suggest you go and talk to your pipes, and tell them how you really feel. Make it sincere. As for the officialness of everything, I'd advise you and your pipes to stay on the down low until you can figure something out. And I swear to god, if you break the pipes, I'll break you. I'm fond of the pipes as well." I finished off as the bell rung loudly above us. I gathered my things and started shoving them in my bag as quickly as I could manage.

"Okay. Thank you, Annabeth. And I know this is gonna seem a bit random, but give Malcolm a chance. Trust me, I'm the last person who wants to do that, your brother's not really on my buddy buddy list, but hear him out, okay?" And then he turned and walked out of the classroom without another word, leaving me to wonder what everyone else knew that I didn't.

* * *

"Okay, I think that's it." I told Percy as I finished typing the last sentence for our English mythology project. I spun my chair to look at him and smirked as I found him looking through one of the fashion magazines Piper had left behind the last time she was over with a bored expression on his face. As soon as his eyes met mine, he threw the magazine to the side and scratched the back of his neck.

"Aw, Jackson, you like fashion? How come you never told me?"

"I was just bored, there was nothing to read." He explained quickly, and I laughed behind my hand.

"Uh huh."

"I mean, I do have an impeccable fashion sense though." He sprung up and opened my closet, grabbing one of the few dresses I owned and holding it up in front of him. "What do you think?"

"Oh, that'd work wonders with your skin tone." I assured, getting up and inspecting him closely. "Oh, you know what would go great with this dress? A necklace." And so I walked over to my drawers and pulled out a stoney necklace, then walked back to him and handed him the necklace. He looked down at it with a confused look.

"Uh. How do I put this on?" I gave him a look and dropped my head in a disappointed manner.

"You fool. How are you supposed to be a fashionista if you can't even put a necklace on?" I asked as I snaked the necklace around his neck and worked on the latch. I paused as my fingers ran across the hair on the back of his neck, and suddenly I felt cold inside. I realized we hadn't been this close since we fell in his room, and something about making skin to skin contact felt different now.

I risked a glance up quickly and found his eyes pinned to me. Something about this situation felt wrong, but then again, something also felt natural. I cleared my throat and patted his chest, backing away awkwardly.

"Right. Um. You're all set. You look beautiful." I said nonchalantly, flipping my hair over my shoulder and smiling.

"I'm sure you'd look a thousand times better." He said, and then his eyes widened as if he'd just realized what he said. I flushed and looked at him uncertainly.

"Why do you keep complimenting me?" He shook his head and squeezed the bridge between his eyes.

"Sorry, I don't really know. I just, sorry, I'm stupid."

"It's okay." I decided, fully understanding his position. It would've been me doing the apologizing if I wasn't so subtle whenever I looked at the guy. "But when you're done checking me out, let me know, will you? Because I don't think Malcolm would like it much if he found that you were checking out his baby sister." His face quickly turned red and I smirked as I sat back down at my computer.

At this moment in time, Malcolm decided to come barging into my room. I'm sure it looked bizarre, to see his best friend standing in the middle of his sister's room, wearing a necklace and halfheartedly holding a dress up to his body. Percy quickly shoved the dress back in the closet and took the necklace off. Malcolm gave him a look that just read, _what the fuck is happening? _

"Um, Annabeth and I were just finishing up our mythology project for English. I'll see you guys later." And then after gazing at me for a second too long, he left, closing the door behind him. I waited until I heard Percy's truck start and go away, then turned around and addressed Malcolm.

"Yes?" I asked curtly. I folded my hands on my lap, avoiding his eyes. I watched quietly as he sat at the edge of my bed. He ran a hand through his hair and then looked up at me.

"Annabeth. You know that trip the cheerleaders are taking to Florida at the end of the month?"

"Yes, the competition." I said with a small smile. I was beyond excited for the trip. After we competed, we'd get one day off to enjoy Florida, and I was really hoping to go down to the beach with Malcolm. He let out a breath and looked down.

"I can't go." He said quietly, and I looked up at him.

"What? Why?"

"I have this… this thing." And that's when I lost it.

"You have _this thing? _This _thing? _ Are you joking right now? This has been the plan for months now! Malcolm what thing could come up, I told you to save the date!" He cringed as I yelled at him.

"I have this appointment I have to go to." I scoffed.

"Oh, what a load of bullshit. An appointment? Seriously? Can't you just change it? Book your appointment for another day! You promised we'd go together!"

"I can't change it, it-"

"You know Malcolm, if you didn't want to come, you should've just said something from the beginning because I just don't believe your shit." And then I picked up my things and left. I was pissed beyond belief.

This trip was supposed to be for both of us, he'd come with me, and then we'd have a nice brother and sister day, and it'd just be us, catching up on each other's lives and sharing with each other. But apparently, whatever he was hiding was more important than a trip that was planned out for months. Not to mention the fact that as of that moment, I was supposed to be going on a plane by myself.

I didn't really know where I was going until I knocked on Thalia's door. My chest hurt from suppressing angry tears, and as soon as the door was open, I walked inside without a word and marched up to her room.

"Annabeth? Annabeth, what's wrong?" But I didn't stop to answer until I sat myself down on her bed and took a breath for a couple minutes. "Annabeth?" She asked again, after ten minutes had gone by.

"It's Malcolm, he's doing it again." As soon as I said Malcolm's name, her face fell.

"Doing what?"

"He's avoiding me again! He told me he can't come to the competition trip because he has an appointment. An appointment. A fucking appointment. He could change the appointment, if there even is one, he's just making this up so he won't have to come." I let out angrily. Thalia sat down next to me and grabbed my hand quietly.

"I'm sorry. He does have an appointment though. He's not lying." I looked up at her confused.

"How would you know…" I began to ask, but I trailed off as I spotted something on the floor. It was a little crumpled up blue football shirt, with the name Chase on the back, and it was barely noticeable as it was in a pile near the window. Thalia followed my gaze and then her eyes widened as she spotted the shirt.

"Is that Malcolm's shirt?" I asked, more confused now than ever. And then slowly, things started coming together. Thalia never answered her phone for me anymore. She was always gone when Malcolm was. And when we were at the mall, she cried because she knew where Malcolm had been the night before. I stood abruptly shaking my head, and at the same time, Jason and Malcolm burst through the door.

"You guys are together? You guys are dating?" Thalia looked like she could burst out crying and I didn't know why. I turned to Malcolm and met his eyes. "You guys are dating? Oh my god. Oh my god, you guys are dating. Oh my god. You're telling me the reason you've been away all this time is because you wanted to spend time with your girlfriend? With Thalia? Oh my god."

"Annabeth-"Jason started, but I cut him off.

"Why didn't anyone tell me? Oh god." Thalia was for sure crying now, and I didn't know what to do, or think. My brother was dating my best friend.

"Annabeth. We aren't just dating." Malcolm said shakily, and Jason grimaced as if he knew what was about to happen and didn't have high hopes for it being a good outcome. My eyebrows came together as I met Malcolm's eyes. "Thalia's pregnant." And now it made perfect sense why Thalia was crying. For the longest I just stood there. I didn't even know what to say. And then,

"Okay." Jason's mouth dropped open, Malcolm looked like he'd seen a ghost, and Thalia lifted her face from her hands. No one was expecting this reaction.

"Okay?" Malcom repeated in disbelief. I nodded.

"Yes. Okay."

"You're okay with this?" Jason asked, stunned.

"No. I'm not okay with it. In fact, I'm pissed. I'm not okay with any of this. Don't get me wrong, I'm not okay at all. My brother got my best friend pregnant. My best friend went behind my back and slept with my brother. They both lied. I'm not okay. But it's too late now. She's pregnant, there's nothing we can do except be supportive and encouraging through this whole thing. We have to help them. I'm sure this will be difficult for the both of them. We'll just have to help Thalia have a smooth pregnancy, and help them prepare and just be there for them." I said quietly. No one spoke for a while.

"The appointment Malcolm has is to reveal the gender of the baby. We can't change it, they're booked every other time. I'm sorry." She explained quickly, sounding a little choked up. I nodded to signify that I understood, but stayed quiet.

"Annabeth-"Malcolm started, but one look at him shut him up.

"Look, I just need some space and time to process this. I'll help you guys all I can, but for the time being, I really don't want to be social with either of you. I need time to be okay with this. I'm gonna go." And as soon as I got out of the house, my feet went the way they wanted, and I ended up at a place that was starting to get familiar for me. I knocked the door hurriedly and as soon as Percy opened the door, I walked inside and sat down on the couch.

"Annabeth? What's wrong?" He asked, sounding concerned as he sat down next to me. He glanced at me once before his mouth set into a thin line.

"He finally told you, didn't he?" I looked up at him, surprised.

"You knew?" He nodded quietly.

"Yeah, I put the pieces together not too long ago. I wanted him to be the one to tell you though. It wasn't my place to tell." I nodded in understanding and sunk into the couch. "So how'd it go down when he told you?" I shook my head and closed my eyes.

"I told them I'd help them and support them. But I'm not happy about it."

"Well why would you be?"

"I just… They're supposed to hate each other. That's the way it is, that's the way it's always been. Thalia would talk shit about Malcolm in my room at our sleepovers, we'd make fun of him, and then I'd get a real kick out of watching them bicker. When we were younger she'd kick his shins, he'd tackle her. It was a mutual thing. I never thought it'd be anything other than that."

"Yeah, I know Chase. I'm sorry, I know this must be hard for all of you guys."

"I just don't know what to think." I said quietly, because I truly didn't. My mind was blank, and it felt like what I would imagine static on a tv would feel like. He paused the movie playing in the living room and looked down at me. After a minute, he stood up and tugged at my arm.

"Come on, I have hot Cheetos and video games in my room. Let's go cheer you up" And I smiled quietly as he helped me up and into his room.

* * *

"Come on, you're off your game Annabeth." Percy said as he managed to successfully kill me for the third time in the game.

"Shut up and pass me the Cheetos." I commanded as I rolled my eyes at him. It was two in the morning, I was still at his house, and we had school tomorrow. Sally was working the night shift at her job tonight, so she didn't even know I was here.

"I'm telling you, maybe you're just losing your touch."

"Mmkay."

"I mean, maybe you are."

"Mmkay."

"Or maybe I'm just getting better than you." I sat up quickly as my eyebrows came together and worked tirelessly on the buttons on the game controller, dodging Percy's hit until I shot him.

"Or maybe I was just letting you win." I answered as I leaned back on the headboard. I busted out laughing at the completely defeated look on his face.

"Can you stop being so good at everything?" I chuckled quietly and yawned.

"Hey, don't hate the player, hate the game."

"Oh, I'll hate the player all I want." He shot back as I started getting up. "Where are you going?" He asked curiously, setting his controller down and fixing those big green eyes of his on me.

"Home. It's getting late and I'm kinda tired."

"Come on, just stay here. It's dark and late, we can swing by your house tomorrow morning and grab your bags."

"But Sally doesn't know I'm here."

"She doesn't need to, she won't be back till late tomorrow, it won't matter. Come on, I'd rather not have to go drive you home. Just stay here and mock me because you beat my ass once again." I bit my lip in consideration, and then with a groan, crawled back into the bed, pulling the covers up to my chin. He started playing some unknown movie on the tv, and then tucked himself in next to me. As soon as he'd laid down and made himself comfortable, I tucked myself into his side and grabbed his arm, wrapping it around my shoulders quietly.

I still couldn't wrap my mind around everything that had happened that afternoon. I was now going to be an aunt, the child was my best friend's, and I was to fly alone to Florida. It all seemed too much to handle. Apparently, Percy could tell how tense I was because after a couple minutes, he spoke.

"Are you okay?" He asked hoarsely, sleep evident in his voice. I set a hand on his chest and nodded quietly, as a sudden thought occurred to me.

"Um, yeah. I'm okay. But I have a question." I said uncertainly, not knowing what to expect.

"Shoot."

"Do you wanna come to Florida with me?"

* * *

**AN: I didn't think this chapter was that bad, so hopefully you guys like it. I'll try to update soon. Drop a review! Till next time- ShyGal**


	12. When One Problem's Solved Another Starts

**Encounters**

**AN: Hello my loves! This update took me longer than I'd like, but still I'm proud that I didn't go completely off the map. I hope you'll like it. Next chapter's gonna have so much percabeth you won't even be able to handle it though, just wait, I have it all mapped out. Alright, well, hope you like it!**

"Florida?" Annabeth's eyes lit up and suddenly she sat up. I frowned quietly as my arm was shoved off of her shoulders. I hated to admit it, but I didn't really have a problem with holding her close and never letting go, in fact, I really kind of wanted it to continue if possible.

"Yeah. Yeah, that'd be so awesome! You could come with me down to Florida, we could have a great time! I mean, someone needs to fill up Malcolm's spot, don't they?" She brushed her hair out of her face all excited like and for a brief second, she reminded me of a little kid with candy.

"Okay, hold on, what are you talking about?" I asked sleepily, leaning against the headboard of my bed, trying to keep my eyes open for more than two seconds so I could listen to her.

"Okay so remember that I told you that the cheerleading team is having this competition in Florida? Well Malcolm can't come because that's the day of the gender reveal, so now there's an open seat and if no one fills it we'll lose money which Helen will go ballistic about and-"

"Wait what do you mean by "an open seat"? An open seat where?" At these words her face fell slightly and her eyes dropped down and avoided mine.

"An open seat on the plane I'm going on." She replied quietly, and that was what made my eyes go wide and my mouth pop open slightly.

"A plane? You want me to go on a plane with you?"

"You already knew that I was going on this plane, I told you about it, remember? Helen won't let me drive down, she's forcing me to go in the plane." I shook my head and raised my hands up to my face.

"Annabeth… A plane? Look, if it was anything else I'd totally go with you but you know I can't deal with planes. I barely managed to fly over here when I moved." I gave her the most sympathetic and sincere look I could muster as I tentatively grabbed her hand in what I hoped was a comforting manner. Her eyes snapped up to meet mine and for less than a second we locked eyes, her face showing some expression that I couldn't understand.

"I know, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked." She said after some time, and she settled back down, resting her head on my chest with a defeated look. And I felt horrible. I felt like I just crushed any hope she had left. I couldn't imagine what she was feeling. Her brother and best friend had just confessed to seeing each other behind her back, she was going to be an aunt, she was due to go on a plane in a couple weeks by herself, and now I totally turned her down on going to Florida with her.

"Why did you even want me to go with you, Blondie?" I asked, and I suddenly felt her grow stiff next to me.

"Because you understand my fear of planes. I thought maybe if you were there, it'd be easier to cope with the fact that I was flying since you know firsthand what it's like. You're the only other person I know that would understand. And even though you're not my brother… You're still someone that could help me cope, maybe even better than Malcolm could." She said the last part rushed, like she was afraid that if she slowed down she'd say something else. Meanwhile, I was still trying to let her words sink in. I could tell she was scared at the prospect of flying alone, and it was blatantly obvious to me that she was having trouble admitting a weakness to me. I wanted to smash myself against a brick wall, I felt so bad about just leaving her like this, letting her go through this herself. I opened my mouth to say something, but the pressure of her lips on my cheek made me halt, and anything that was currently happening in my body stopped in its tracks and died.

"It's okay. Don't feel bad about it. I can fly by myself. I understand why you're saying no, and I'd never try to force you into that position. I'm sorry I even asked." She whispered raggedly by my ear, and I tried and failed to control myself but I honestly had no fucking clue as to what was currently happening. The alarm that rang in my body every time an occurrence of the mysterious problem came up was going off like there was no tomorrow, and I still didn't know what it was, or how to stop the fact that my heart felt like it was beating out of my chest, or that I wanted to wrap my hands in the adorable human being's curls, or that I wanted to feel the softness of her sun kissed skin, or any of it. It didn't stop any of it.

It didn't stop the fact that for the insert number here time, the fucks I gave that she was my best friend's sister were nonexistent, or that all I wanted was to shut her up in a way that would most certainly get me in trouble if Malcolm or my mom were to see me. It didn't help the situation at all that she was looking up at me with those eyes of her that could be so scrutinizing but so full of everything at the same time, or that she was making me feel a way that I wasn't sure I should be feeling, or that really, at the moment, I was feeling reckless, and I really didn't care about consequences, or about sleep, or school, or football, or planes. I. Didn't. Care.

I didn't care. I didn't care. I didn't care. I didn't care. I was so done, her gesture had pushed me over the limit, and I didn't know what to do about it. None of this stopped the fact that I wanted to kiss her so hard it burned my soul. None of this stopped the fact that I wanted to hold her close and fall asleep again just like that one night, or that I wanted to hear her small little breaths again, until I fell asleep to it because it was now on the top list of beautiful and perfect sounds.

I couldn't focus. Not even when I asked her why she had done what she did, biting down on my lip so hard it hurt and staring straight at the ceiling to prevent myself from doing something I'd regret, and she responded with saying that she was just comforting a friend, although the way she said it made it sound like she didn't even believe herself. Not even when she fell back asleep on my chest and her breaths started again. Not even when an hour had passed, and I definitely should've been asleep, but instead I was looking down at her beautiful and perfectly imperfect face, with her sporadic freckles framing her cheeks, and her lips curving in just the right way, and the small cut on her right eyebrow, and the way her eyelashes looked like they were kissing her face. Not even when I noticed that her shirt had ridden up and I saw the thin outline of the scars that Helen had cut out on Annabeth's stomach. Not even through any of that.

The only instance when I did manage to focus, was hours later, when I finally figured out what my problem was, and in a way, figuring out was even worse than not knowing. I was right. Sometimes being oblivious is complete bliss. When you're oblivious you can lie to yourself, and try to deter whatever's coming, and you don't have to face whatever it is that's troubling you. But now I couldn't. I couldn't run away. And that meant I couldn't run away from the unavoidable problem that I was completely and utterly attracted to Annabeth Chase on every level that you could possibly imagine, whether it was emotional or physical.

* * *

The realization of what the problem really was made the next day complete hell. I didn't know what to do, I didn't know what to think, and I didn't even know what to say. As soon as we got up for school that morning, I couldn't even look at her. If I looked at her, those feelings would rise, and I didn't want it. I didn't want to feel what I felt. I didn't want this goddamned problem.

Liking Annabeth wasn't convenient for me in the slightest. She was my best friend's sister, and as much as I didn't want to care about that small little fact, I had to because he was my best friend. Maybe in the heat of the moment I hadn't cared, but now that my head wasn't completely crowded with thoughts about her, I couldn't just give zero fucks about Malcolm. Malcolm wasn't even the only problem. There was still the feud. I didn't give one fuck about that, but apparently Annabeth did, a lot, so that assured that nothing could ever happen between us anyway. And there's the small detail that she didn't feel the same way towards me.

I mean come on. Come _on_. I spilled coffee on her and acted like a complete dick about it, and even though we'd made peace with each other since then, there was still a barrier between us because she was a strict follower of the rules that outlined the feud, and the first impression she had of me was that of a complete asshole.

Even if there was a chance Annabeth returned my feelings, what the hell were we supposed to do about it? Date? There was no smooth road to go through this, this was just one big horrible mess that I had let myself get trapped in because I'd gotten too close to someone that I shouldn't have gotten close to. I didn't even know how it had happened. I didn't know if it was the countless hours I spent getting my ass beat at video games, or the countless hours I spent working on the English project at her house, or the countless hours I spent just thinking about her, but it didn't matter now. I felt like everything I knew was caving in. School was overwhelming, football was overwhelming, and everything was just too much. As if everything wasn't hard enough, now I had to spend my time and energy getting over my best friend's sister, and by the looks of it, it wouldn't be easy because I'd fallen harder than I'd ever fallen before.

I had to let her drive us down to the school- with a quick stop at her house- because I was too out of it to be able to get behind the wheel. I still felt like one of the worst people walking the streets right now considering the fact that she was still going to Florida by herself. But then, without thinking, I stopped Annabeth at the next stop sign and I made her pull the car over. She looked up at me with this look on her face like I was insane, and I just wanted to rip myself out of this situation because I honestly couldn't handle it.

"What is it?" She asked after I hadn't said anything for a full five minutes and the air was becoming thick with silence and confusion. And maybe I was stupid. But yeah. I was really stupid, and my actions would prove so. So I leaned back in my seat, and shut my eyes excruciatingly tight because I wanted to shut everything out and not say what I was about to say. Of course, I was going to say what I was about to say not only because I'm an idiot, but also because I cared way too much about her.

"Let's skip school today." And she gave me this look like I was crazy, and really, I was also wondering that because I was pretty sure I was, but it was too late to stop what I was trying to propose.

"Percy, why would I skip-"

"Because I need a day off. I need a day that isn't completely full of complications. I need a day where I don't feel like I'm drowning in stress, and I'm not being told what position I need to be in for football, and I'm completely in control of myself and my decisions, and I'm okay. I need to be able to just breathe and not care about anything, for twenty four hours. And I want you to come with me." I finished quickly, not looking at her, but instead staring straight at the road ahead.

"But-"

"And before you say no," I said, cutting her off again, and I had to restrain myself from gawking at how adorable she looked when she was mad because I could tell she was upset that I'd interrupted her again by the way her cheeks flushed and one eyebrow was raised, "If you skip with me today, I'll come to Florida with you." And that's the part that finally grabbed her attention. She met my eyes and in them I could see all the desperation and renewed hope in them, all the longing she had to not go on the plane by herself, and I instantly felt so bad for forcing her into this position. The truth was, I'd made up my mind maybe ten minutes into the car ride. I was definitely going to Florida with her, even if she said no to skipping with me. I had to, there's no way I could just let her face all this herself. If I didn't come along I'd be being selfish and stupid because sure, I was scared of planes, but so was she, and I had to think about her as well as myself. Even though she was more than capable of taking care of herself and being independent, at the moment, she needed support, and not many people were able to give it to her.

"I can't do that to you, I feel stupid for even asking, really it's okay, you don't have to do this." She responded in a determined fashion, like she'd already made up her mind.

"You're right, I don't have to do anything. I_ want_ to do this, though. That's the difference."

"Percy-"

"You said it yourself, you need someone to go with anyway." She stayed quiet for some time, inwardly cursing herself for even asking me in the first place.

"I can find someone else to go with, someone who's not afraid of flying, it's okay."

"But you asked me. You obviously wanted me there, you wanted me to come otherwise you wouldn't have asked me."

"But that was before." She responded quickly.

"It's been one night, and who else are you gonna go with? Someone from your math class?"

"I could find anyone if I really wanted to." She bit back, and I knew that if she was persistent enough she would.

"Yeah, but it wouldn't be as fun with a random person, than it would be with me, right?" She paused and looked at me, crossing her arms over her chest, and I just knew we were about to try and stand each other up.

"You're a football player."

"So was Malcolm."

"But he's my brother."

"But I'm well trusted."

"Your mom would never let you."

"My mom's more lax than you think."

"We'd have to share a hotel room."

"We slept in the same bed last night."

"Do you really wanna go waste a weekend watching cheerleaders?" I raised an eyebrow at her and her face fell like she realized what she'd just said was the stupidest comeback she could possibly muster. I held back my laughter and gave her a look.

"Look, I just don't want to force you into anything you don't want to do. I know flying is something you're not fond of, and I'd rather not have to put you through that. Plus, really what are the chances of your mom saying yes to you going with me?" I shook my head at her and leaned back in the seat once more.

"I want to go with you. I know I said I didn't, but I can't just leave you alone like this, and you're right, I would be understanding of your situation since I know what it feels like. It's okay. And I can talk to my mom about it and explain the situation, I'll talk to Malcolm too, it'll be okay, we're gonna figure this out." She let out a breath and ran her hands through her hair in a frustrated manner.

"You're such an ass sometimes. I've never skipped school before, what would we even do? What about final exams? If we're absent we can't get exempt from them. And what about school work? What are we supposed to say?" I laughed at her panicking, and apparently that was the wrong thing to do because she visibly became more frustrated with me and crossed her arms over her chest.

"You lie. You turn in a sick note the next day, and you move on with your life, that's what you do. If it's an excused absence then it's okay, and you can make up work. Come on, Blondie, why don't you loosen up for once in your life?" She pursed her lips and looked at me considering her choices, and then quietly, as if she'd made a decision, she turned the car around and drove until she stopped in front of my house. She looked at me, giving me a look like she was just waiting for me to hop out of the car.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Go grab your stuff, we're going to NYC." I looked up at her instantly, my eyes widening and my mouth opening slightly.

What?" She looked over at me and raised an eyebrow, tapping her index finger on the wheel.

"Did I stutter? Go grab your stuff, it's not a short ride." And then she ushered me out of the car to go grab my stuff. I bit back a lunatic smile as I sucked in a cold breath and power walked up the driveway. I made to go inside, but as I approached the door, I realized there was a letter lying on the welcome mat. The writing on the front of the envelope was a deep shade of blue, and the name on the front read Peter Cremmings. I quickly picked it up, deciding to read it as I grabbed my things from inside, and pushing the door open quickly. As I grabbed my cellphone charger and a bag of hot Cheetos- which I knew she'd end up wanting eventually- I tore open the letter and tried to do a quick skim, but froze as I actually looked at what was written on the paper.

_I'm okay. It all ends soon. Keep watch of Annabeth. She's the one who's most in danger. I love you._

If Annabeth's name hadn't been in the letter, maybe I would've over looked it as a mistake, or just spam mail, but this couldn't be a coincidence. I didn't know what it meant or what to make of it, but something about reading those words chilled me to the bone, and made me feel like something was out of place. The writing was familiar, but I couldn't place whose it was.

After staring at the words on the paper for five minutes straight, I hastily stuffed it in my bag and walked out, locking the door behind me and trying to be okay. It was going to be fine. I was taking a day off, going to NYC, and avoiding stress. I should've been okay. Yet I couldn't shake the words on the paper, and somehow, that letter left me feeling more confused and distracted than I'd ever felt before.

* * *

**AN: Bet you weren't expecting something else to be added to the plot after that nice inward confession from Percy now where you? And the plot gets better! I'm so excited! Also, do you get the title of the chapter? I know this chapter wasn't that long, and I'm sorry, but next chapter will be really good, and I'll work really hard on it. As for now, drop me a review! Till next time- ShyGal**


	13. The Dare That Changed Everything

**Encounters**

**AN: Hello! I'm super excited to post this chapter, but also kinda scared at the same time, but it's okay. I didn't get that many reviews at all last chapter which kinda sucks because reviews either encourage me, or help me become a better writer so please try to review please it's the Christmas season. Anyway, this is one of my longer updates, so I hope you enjoy and please read the an at the end of this.- ShyGal**

**Annabeth**

"The streets of New York are interesting." I said quietly as I watched the bustle of people hurrying off to their jobs. I could feel Percy's gaze shift from the guy who had dropped his briefcase on the street to me. I resisted the urge to turn completely red and clamped down on my lip hard, feeling confused as to why my body reacted as if a hundred million spotlights were shining down on my face just because he looked at me.

"Why do you say that?" He asked quietly, and I risked a glance at him and instantly regretted the entire thing. I regretted looking at him, I regretted kissing his cheek, I regretted sleeping in his bed, I regretted taking the specific classes I took to make me have the same English period as he did, I regretted dumping the coffee on him, I regretted going to Starbucks, I regretted taking the dare, I regretted that I didn't stay in my damn seat at my damn computer desk when Piper came in and dared me to dress up and go get coffee. I regretted the fact that I was so stubborn that I refused to ever give up on a dare, the fact that I always wanted to prove myself whenever someone dared me to do something. I regretted it all.

And why did I regret it? Because now I was being stupid and reckless and kissing people's cheeks that I definitely shouldn't be kissing. Now I had let myself get close to someone, and that wasn't in my original plan. My original plan, since before I even got into high school, was to go through high school suppressing my feelings because my logic chain was that feelings lead to complications. Of course, liking Jason got in the way of that, but I think I still did well at keeping those feelings hidden for the most part. And I'd finally gotten over Jason and the stupid feelings I felt for him, but now whatever was going on with me and my stupid feelings towards stupid Percy was really upsetting me because what the hell was it. What the hell was this, and my life, and I just felt so many things that I shouldn't feel and why. Just why. My GPA might've been a 4.0, but I legitimately didn't understand myself, and how I could be so stupid sometimes.

"Chase?"

"Chase what?" I answered distractedly, sweeping my hair over my shoulder as I watched a thin woman in a business suit ignore the homeless man on the street begging for food. Percy's deep chuckling snapped me out of my daze and I looked over at him, noting the way his eyes crinkled.

"I said why do you think that New York City streets are interesting?" I looked him over and had the overwhelming temptation to fix his hair, which was currently sticking up in every direction, and the wind wasn't really doing much to help.

"Well," I started, pausing as Percy smiled knowingly at me, "I find people interesting. The way they work and function, it just makes me curious. Seeing these people on the streets is interesting, just because you can tell they're trying to accomplish something but you don't know the full story, right? Like, that lady over there. Business suit, brief case, a potential lawyer. Also, I think the fact that all these people with different stories are just walking past each other, all trying to achieve some end goal. Think about it, you could be walking past the person you could marry someday, or a future boss, or whatever. The stories have the potential to get linked somehow." I watched quietly, cupping my face with my hand as another man speaking into a Bluetooth shot a dirty look at the homeless man on the street.

"Okay I understand that, but that's not how it always works, you know. In fact, I pity these people that walk the New York streets. These people, running to their jobs, hustling to make money, not caring what happens… That's not a way to live. You don't get to appreciate the true beauty of what life is. How many second chances do you really get in a life time? What kind of experiences are they going to carry to their graves? Working a basic nine to five job at a desk? These people are way too focused on what's materialistic to ever stop and actually get to know the person that's walking by them, stories can't get linked without communication. Sometimes being reckless and taking a risk is one of the best things you can do because if you never try something you'll always be what-ifing. These people don't get that, and they won't ever get that. And honestly, they're only looking out for themselves, they don't care about anyone else but themselves, and that's such a horrible quality to have."

I looked over at his face, stone hard and deeply concentrated, and wondered if all this talk about taking chances and not what-ifing had something to do with more than just strangers walking on the streets. Suddenly, as if realizing he was in a daze, he stood up and offered me his hand, helping me up from the bench and then walking by my side towards the other side of the street.

In a minute, we were immersed in the crowd of strangers that were walking down the streets in a rush. I hugged my jacket closer to me as the cold wind bit into my cheek and made me want to be back home, curling up on the couch with a cup of tea and a good book. Percy looked over at me and stopped me, pulling his wallet out of his pocket and walking over to the homeless man. I bit the inside of my cheek as I watched Percy pull a twenty from his wallet and offer it to the man. The man looked like he was astonished that someone on the streets of New York was actually taking the time to listen to him, and after he recovered from his shock, he kindly accepted the money, and thanked Percy so profusely, that if he hadn't moved, the man might've been thanking Percy for hours on end.

"That was really really nice of you." I told Percy as soon as he'd come back, my mind racing and coming up with 700,000 definitions for how amazing he was.

"Well, it's always nice to pay it forward and help people out." He responded, as he stuffed his hands in his pocket. We walked for some time in comfortable silence, finally stopping at a coffee shop down the street to warm up.

"Tea?" I nodded at Percy and quietly tried to hide my smile at the fact that he remembered I preferred tea as I found a table to sit at. It was a few minutes later, when Percy was just starting to order, and I was settled down, that someone cleared their throat. I looked up to meet an older man's sharp blue eyes.

"Can I help you?" I asked confused when the man didn't break eye contact after a full minute. I gave him a once over as I waited for a response. The guy had blonde hair that was swept to the side, eyes that were currently narrowed and sharp, a pointed nose, and a thin scar running along one side of his face. He seemed to be in his late twenties, and something about him screamed for me to run.

"Sweetie, you're helping me just by letting me look at you." He said in a perverse tone as he sat down at the table. I scooted my chair back in what I hoped was a subtle manner, but the way that a cynical smile played on the guy's lips made me think he noticed how uncomfortable I was.

"Excuse me, who are you?" I asked, not caring if I sounded rude or not because at this point I was getting somewhat creeped out. The guy's eyes twinkled and he held his hand out for me.

"I'm Luke. And you?"

"My name doesn't matter, and it shouldn't to you." I answered sharply, taking his hand rather reluctantly and not liking the way it felt extremely clammy. His smile widened at my words as he let go of my hand.

"Feisty, are we? I like that. You know I couldn't help but notice you from the other side of the shop. You're plenty attractive." My mouth wanted to drop open, but I clenched my jaw and forced myself to keep a calm manner. I shot Percy a look from the line, but he wasn't looking at me and my attempts at getting his attention felt futile.

"Don't you think that's a little uncalled for, we literally just met. And how old are you exactly?"

"I'm in the golden year of 26 sweetheart." At this point, I was urgently trying to get Percy's attention, but there was no easy way to do that without drawing attention to the fact that I was trying to get someone's attention.

"Do you realize that I'm underage?" He chuckled quietly and grabbed my hand from the table.

"Age is just a number."

"You know what else is a number? 911." I took the chance to wave over and stare intently at Percy while Luke tossed his head back and laughed at what he considered a joke. Finally, I got Percy's attention, and I signaled over to Luke. Percy's eyes hardened and he gave a small nod as he grabbed our drinks.

"You're pretty and funny, that's really great you know." I ripped my hand away from the guy as I let out a small sigh of relief. Percy was coming. Percy was going to make it better.

"Look, I'd really appreciate it if you left me alone."

"But then how would we get to know each other on a… _personal_ level?" I opened my mouth to respond to his innuendo, but was cut off by a voice behind me that rendered me speechless.

"Babe, I got your tea, did you know this place is already selling Christmas cookies?" Percy said from behind me as he rested one hand on my shoulder and put my tea down with the other.

"That's really interesting." I managed to choke out, understanding what Percy was trying to do but not knowing if I could successfully play along. Percy gave me a look and smiled warmly.

"You know I never did understand why you started drinking tea." He said as he leaned down and kissed my cheek before leaning back in his seat and taking a long sip of his coffee. My mouth went dry and I tried to keep from bursting to flames. As if just now noticing there was someone else sitting at the table, Percy locked eyes with Luke and then looked back at me. "Who's this?" I let out a quiet breath and composed myself as Percy grabbed my hand.

"This is Luke. He just came over and started talking to me. He's twenty six, and I'm fairly certain he was trying to hit on me." Percy choked on his coffee and set the cup down, this time looking like he had fire in his eyes.

"_Twenty six_? Do you realize she's underage? And that she's _my_ girlfriend?" Percy added the last bit in hastily, but Luke didn't react at all, in fact he was studying Percy with curiosity and fascination.

"You have a very familiar appearance you know." He answered to Percy, and Percy's face slipped for a second. His eyes narrowed and he stared the guy down as he clutched me closer to him.

"Now you listen here. This is my girlfriend, and I treat her right, which not only means I watch out for her, but it also means I make sure she doesn't get harassed by men who could go to jail for trying to get in my girlfriend's pants, and men who also make my girlfriend feel extremely uncomfortable. Last time I checked, you fit both of those descriptions, do you not? Now I'm telling you now to leave her alone." Luke gave him a smile and raised his hands up to cup his chin.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize telling someone they looked nice was against the law." If anything, this angered Percy more.

"It's wrong when you're being a pervert and the person you're talking to is 9 or ten years younger than you. Do you wanna take your tea to go?" He asked me, and I nodded quietly, standing up with my tea in hand. Percy shot the guy one last look before we started walking out of the coffee shop.

"I'll see you again, Annabeth." Luke called after me, and I stopped in my tracks long enough for Percy to notice I'd stopped. Chills ran down my back, and now all I wanted more than anything was to run far far away. Percy gave me a questioning look but I ignored him until we were outside the store.

"What is it?" Percy asked as soon as we were back in the loud streets I shook my head in disbelief and looked up at Percy.

"I never told him my name." Percy stared at me for a couple moments longer before he turned us around and marched down the street, hands still locked together.

"Where are we going?" I asked, trying to overpower the noise of the streets.

"Someone's on you tail, Annabeth. We should go. It's getting late anyways, we've been here awhile." He said as we walked up the parking lot area I'd parked the car in.

"But-"

"No buts. Look I know what you're going to say. Don't worry about me, I can take care of myself, enjoy your day off and all that jazz. And sure, I wanted a day off. But your safety is way more important to me, and if someone is stalking you, we're leaving, alright?"

"Percy-"

"No. You mean more to me than the day off. We can go back go to my house, it'll be fine." And with that, we finished our walk to the car and hopped in. Percy made sure to check that everything was fine with the car before we left.

The ride back wasn't that eventful. We listened to music in silence, I ate hot Cheetos, and even though neither of us were talking about it, I knew we were both thinking about how Luke knew my name.

* * *

In a couple weeks' time, it was six am, and there I was, slaving away and completely freaking out as I packed my bags. I was an idiot. I postponed finishing my packing until three hours before the flight, and I was supposed to be out of the house in thirty minutes.

I stuffed my three cheer uniforms in my bag, which were some of the most important things, and then shoved whatever else I could find in. The whole process took way longer than it should have. I made sure to get my glasses, and bathroom necessities in the bag before I grabbed my other suitcase and rushed down stairs to the sound of Percy honking at me from his mom's car. Helen was sitting at the kitchen table, glaring at nothing in particular. The sight of her made me want to crawl in a hole and die.

Malcolm rounded the corner and grabbed one of my bags as I said goodbye to Dad, and then we walked outside together. Hurriedly, we stuffed the bags in the back, and then I turned to Malcolm. My frustration at him was lessening, and I managed a stiff smile and a hug.

"Stay safe, I want tabs on you alright? Let me know how everything goes."

"And you let me know how the appointment goes. I love you."

"Love you too, Chase." I smiled as he turned to Percy and his mom. "Percy, thanks again for going down with her. I think this is the best alternative considering you're basically her brother, with all that time you spend with her I can't see how you're not." Malcolm said genuinely, but I didn't believe that statement one bit, even though weeks ago I couldn't have agreed more. Percy's nod was strained, like he didn't agree with Malcolm but he wasn't going to correct him.

"It's no big deal. Well, I'll see you in a couple days."

"Have a safe flight." Malcolm said, patting the car and then embracing me again. He looked like he never wanted to let me go, and honestly, I didn't blame him because if it was him going on the plane, I'd be acting the exact same way. After what seemed like forever, he let me go, and I climbed into the back of the car, buckling up and closing my eyes to shut out the world.

The ride there felt never ending, and some part of me wanted it to be. I felt like I was going to break out having an anxiety attack at any minute. Sally tried to be comforting as she helped unload our things from the back, and she surrounded me with motherly love all the way until she couldn't follow us into the airport anymore. The hug she gave me filled me with some reassurance, but that reassurance quickly died out as soon as we met everyone else in the waiting area. Piper met my eyes excitedly, but as her glance shifted to Percy's a look of confusion filled her face.

"Do you mind finding a place to sit near the team? I'm gonna go talk to Piper for just a sec." I told Percy, and I waited until he nodded unsurely so I could go talk to Piper.

"What's he doing here? I mean, I don't have anything against him, I'm just curious." She said, and her bright, ever changing eyes flashed endlessly.

"Well, you know Malcolm can't come. I asked Percy to come with me instead." At hearing this, Piper's eyebrows raised and she gave me a knowing smirk.

"What happened to "He's an asshole and I hope he goes to hell"?" Piper asked while clicking her tongue.

"We're friends now." I responded defensively, knowing where Piper was headed, and knowing she was on to something that I didn't want to admit.

"'Friends'. Right. I reckon my little Anniekins has a new romantic interest."

"Please, Piper. You know I've sworn off dating anyone."

"Swearing off dating doesn't mean you swear off developing feelings for someone, that's inevitable." She said sweetly, playing with the ends of her hair, and at the moment I wanted to strangle her so she would stop talking.

"Well I don't like Percy. We're just friends, and I needed someone to come with me because the ticket was already paid for."

"Right. You know you guys have to share a room?"

"We're sleeping in different beds, Piper, it's not a big deal."

"Whatever lets you sleep at night." She said with a smile, and I my eyes narrowed at her.

"Speaking of romantic interests, how are you and Jason holding up?" I asked quietly, and Piper's face fell.

"How do you know about that?"

"I know everything." I said simply, crossing my arms over my chest. Piper looked uncomfortable for a split second before she sighed.

"He talked to me and told me how much he liked me. We're kind of dating, but not really. Obviously we can't, the feud and everything." I nodded understandingly. She let out a breath and shook her head. "I really like him, and it just upsets me how this feud limits my choices like this. Anyway, I have to go back to Lacy, she's waiting for me, and just like you, she's terrified of planes so you can just imagine how she's holding up." I looked over at Piper's little sister, who Piper decided as the one person to bring with her. She was sitting in one of the chairs looking stiff as a board and I cringed. That's how I felt on the inside.

Breaking out of my daze, I walked back over to where Percy was pacing from one side to another, his bags strewn all over the floor. I noticed how some of the cheerleaders recognized him from the football team and were shooting him questioning looks. I set my bags down next to his and walked up to him. His face was etched with concern and worry, slightly red from walking back and forth so much, and his hair looked even messier than normal because of the fact he'd run his hands through it at least five times in the last minute.

I didn't know why or how I was so calm, but the way he was acting now was how I felt on the inside. I wanted to scream and run out of the airport in a hot second, but instead I settled for taking short breaths and drinking my fifth bottle of water.

An hour later, when they finally called our plane, the panic finally set in. My steps towards the boarding area felt like I had led on my feet, I was shaking all over, and the inside of my cheek felt raw. I accidentally pinched myself with the seatbelt when we got inside because my hands were shaking so hard it was impossible for me to swiftly put it on. It felt like a death trap, a death trap with air conditioning, and thousands of little bags of peanuts, and lots and lots of seats.

And then we finally took off and I felt like my world was falling from underneath me and I wanted to cry and scream and run off the plane even if I fell 1000 feet to the ground. I was squeezing my eyes shut so hard I thought I was starting to hallucinate. But then, maybe a minute into our ascend into the air, I felt a hand slip through mine and I forced my eyes open.

Those deep green eyes I knew so well were staring at me with all the understanding I could ever imagine. I took into account the fact that he looked less concerned than he had before we boarded the flight, and although I could still tell he was nervous, he was better off than I was because he'd been in a plane at least once before.

"It's okay." He said quietly, and I let him continue holding my hand partly because I needed the support and no one from my team was sitting close to us, and partly because some part of me didn't want to let go.

* * *

"Are you sure it was okay?" I asked for the billionth time that day as we sat in a small ice cream shop, spooning ice cream in our mouths greedily. Percy shot me a look and set his heaping spoonful of mint chocolate chip down.

"Yes, Annabeth. You did amazing, I mean the team got fifth place overall, that's gotta count for something, right?"

Our performance, which had been the day before, had scored us a fifth place trophy out of thirty teams, and although I was extremely proud, I was also very paranoid that I'd done something to screw the whole thing up for everyone. The day of the competition came with high stress and endless amounts of stretching and practicing before we went on to Phase 1 of the competition. Percy did exactly what he came to do, and sat in the stands with the other team mate's plus ones, cheering on as best as he could. Now, it was our free day, and tomorrow we'd be going back to New York.

We had a boundary limit of a couple streets, so we could explore Florida, but we weren't allowed to go past the assigned streets. A lot of my team mates decided to spend half their day sleeping in, which I found confusing because out of all the days to sleep in, you choose the one day you have to go out in Florida? But I mean hey, what do I know?

I had made sure Percy understood the fact that I was not playing around with my free day, and I was fully intending to use each and every minute of it. When my alarm went off at precisely seven in the morning, Percy must've thought it was a joke, but I forced him out of bed and told him to get his sorry ass out of his pajamas so we could leave. Now, the day was almost over and I'd accomplished almost everything I wanted to. The sun starting to set in the background warned me to wrap up the ice cream so I could finish what I needed to. I shoved my spoon back into my ice cream and sighed.

"Well, yeah, but I messed up. I tripped over my own feet for like three seconds." And Percy dropped his spoon and crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned back in his chair.

"Nobody saw that! Stop stressing out, you did amazing, literally no one noticed you almost tripped until you pointed it out." I let out a breath and decided to finish my ice cream instead of responding. After two minutes of eating, I looked up to find Percy's eyes locked on me with a smile playing on his lips.

"Are you hungry? Because you sure are scarfing down that ice cream." I rolled my eyes at him and stood up quickly, throwing away my cup and looking back at him to follow me.

"I was just trying to hurry so we could have time to go to the beach. I told Malcolm I wanted to go to the beach when I came, and even though he's not here, I'm still going, now let's go." And then we walked our way down to the beach by the small little ice cream shop and I smiled at the sky, and the way the pinks and golds were mixing together so nicely to provide a warm feeling. And then I thought about it. And then I realized the colors reminded me of Percy's eyes, and that one time when we were at my house and he complimented me on my eyes, and how a couple days later I'd told him he had nice eyes as well, and how that was a really huge understatement because they were way more than nice. They were an entirely different word that didn't even exist yet.

"It's so nice out here." He said, and his words broke me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah. I love it. It's so beautiful." There was a comfortable silence between us as we walked down the length of beach quietly, breathing in the nice sea salt smell. And then that comfortable silence ended when Percy picked me up and threw me in the water without any warning at all. And of course I'd screamed and thrashed, which led to us fighting each other in the water, until I, begrudgingly, gave up because I was still so drained from all the energy I spent the day before. So, with his head held up high, we walked back to the hotel, me pouting, and him with a ridiculous, wide smile on his face that was impossible to wipe off.

"I'm going to go wash up." He informed me as soon as we got in the room, and I nodded quietly, watching him grab his clothes and walk into the bathroom. And even after he'd gone into the bathroom, I made no effort to move. I didn't know what was wrong with me, but every so often, Piper's words kept flying back at me and I pushed them away because she couldn't be right, I couldn't like him. I desperately attempted to recall those times when I wanted nothing more than to get as far away from him as possible. Those times where the only thoughts that roamed my mind about him were about how much of an ass he was. Those times when I couldn't even be in the same room with him without wanting to punch him. And now where was I with my thoughts about him? Couldn't we just go back to that splendid day, when I dumped coffee on him? Except this time, it turns out he's not my brother's best friend, and he's not set to go to the same school I am, and we'd never have to see each other again, and it would just be me dumping coffee on someone who, at the time, completely deserved it. Couldn't things just be simple? Couldn't it just all be okay, and couldn't I just go back so I wouldn't have to feel like my thoughts were jumbled up everywhere? Apparently not.

I heard the door of the bathroom click open, looked up, and instantly regretted it because there he was, straight from the shower, with water dripping down his hair and chest, and a towel wrapped around his waist.

"Dude the water is absolutely amazing, you should go take a shower before all the hot water's gone because it feels great." He told me as he walked over to his suitcase and pulled out some articles of clothing, but I didn't respond because I was at a complete loss of words and I didn't know what to do about it.

"And you know," He continued after he didn't get an answer, "This hotel is actually really nice compared to others, I mean they aren't stingy on the soap or anything, it's great."

"Right. Yeah." I choked out, still not fully comprehending why I couldn't think as he ran a hand through his hair and pulled out some extra stuff from his suitcase. He paused what he was doing and looked back at me with a raised eyebrow, but there I was, still looking at him like I'd never seen a guy before.

"Are you okay?"

"I don't know, actually." I said honestly, as my eyes trailed everywhere they could, and he gave me a look.

"Are you checking me out?" My eyes snapped up to his and I bit the inside of my cheek.

"No, I mean no." I said quickly, knowing full and well that it was the biggest lie I'd ever told. He gave me a smirk and shook his head at me.

"Right. Well when you're done checking me out, let me know, will you? Because I don't think Malcolm would like it much if he found out that you were checking out his best friend." He said, throwing my own words back at me, and a few seconds went by where my entire face felt like it was on fire.

"I'm going to go shower." I said abruptly, standing up and grabbing random clothing.

"Annabeth, I was just joking." He said stopping me by grabbing my arm, and the sudden contact made me wary.

"Yeah." I said quickly, and then I rushed into the bathroom. Maybe this was the literal version of running away from your problems, but I was too busy stripping and jumping into the shower to think about it. I let the warm water wash away all the sand from the beach, and all the stress in my life. The doubt, the worry, the confusion, just gone. And it left me feeling relaxed and revived, and just perfectly amazing. That is until I stepped out of the shower.

See, everything was going well. I was fine, slipping into my pajamas, and then I saw it. This small little black dot on the wall, slowly making its way up the length of it. And I screamed like my life depended on it.

"HOLY FUCKING SHIT HOLY FUCKING SHIT! PERCY! OH HOLY HELL!" Percy came barging in to find me pressed against the sink top.

"What is it?! What's going on?" And I shook my head and pointed at the wall without a word. He looked over and then looked back at me. "What?" And then I pointed again and he spotted the horrible beast.

"A spider? You're scared of spiders?" He asked while throwing his head back and laughing.

"It's not funny!" I yelled as he grabbed some toilet paper and smushed the spider, trying to control his laughter.

"No, it's just that I find it funny that out of the few things that limit you, one of them is spiders." He said, throwing the paper away and staring at me, still pressed up against the sink top, but more relaxed now that the spider was gone. He crossed his arms over his still bare chest and I kept my eyes from looking at him.

"Few things?" I asked questioningly, wondering what else limited me other than my fear of spiders.

"Well, obviously the feud is the biggest one." He said matter-of-factly, and I raised an eyebrow.

"The feud doesn't limit me." At this he gave me a look of disbelief.

"Are you kidding me? The feud controls your entire life! Do you not remember when you told me that we couldn't be friends because of the feud?" I held my head up high and crossed my arms.

"That's because I didn't like you. I don't have to follow the feud, I can be defiant at any time I want."

"No you can't, Annabeth, you refuse to break the rules of the feud because you're scared there will be punishment. You let the feud limit you because you're scared."

"That's not true! I'm not scared of the feud!" I said, getting heated in the face.

"Yes you are! You refuse to do anything about it!"

"Because it's not my place to do something about!"

"Just face the facts, Annabeth, you let this thing control your life!"

"That is so not true! I can do what I feel like regardless of what the feud says, I'm my own person, and the feud doesn't tell me what to do!" He scoffed, and shook his head at me.

"Yeah, you say that, but then you always do everything according to the feud, you never allow yourself to do anything that could ever possibly break the feud. The feud controls you."

"I can do what I want!"

"Sure." He said unconvincingly, looking like he was more upset now than ever. Meanwhile I was getting increasingly upset at the fact that this had somehow turned into an argument when it was supposed to be a nice day.

"I can!"

"Yeah, okay, except for the fact that you wouldn't _dare_ do anything that might break the rules of the feud." And those words were the ones that completely unraveled me, and I knew I was about to do something that might be completely stupid.

"I could totally break the rules!"

"Then prove it!" And no sooner had he said that, I launched myself at him and crashed my lips onto his. As soon as I'd done it I knew it was a mistake because then, I never wanted to pull back. It ended as soon as it had started though, because I forced myself to pull away, and I instantly covered my mouth with my hands. Percy looked like he was more surprised than ever, and when I pulled away, he stared at me like he was looking at me in a different light.

"Oh my god. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry. Oh god, oh god-"

"Annabeth, for once in your life, just shut up." He said quietly, and then, locking eyes with me, and making it extremely clear what he was about to do, he grabbed my chin and pressed his lips to mine. And it might've been one of the most delicate experiences of my life. I can't say that I wasn't aware of my surroundings because I totally was, in fact, I felt like my awareness was heightened. And then the realization hit me that Piper was completely right, and I pulled back again and we just stared at each other for forever, him with confusion, me with fear and realization.

"Percy, I think I lik-"

"Stop thinking, god."

"But, I-"

"Nope, don't wanna hear it."

"Percy-"

"Shut up, just stop talking."

"Percy! I'm trying to tell you-"

"No, you listen Annabeth. I love you to death, but you have this habit of complicating situations by overthinking all the freaking time." I stopped and looked at him.

"You love me?" And he face palmed and gave me a look.

"See this is what I'm talking about!"

"But-"And then he shut me up again, in a rather nice manner I'll say, and this time I didn't do anything to stop him. For this moment in time, I didn't care about the consequences. I didn't care about the feud, or the fact that my team mates were in this hotel. I didn't care about the fact that Malcolm would go ballistic if he ever found out about this. I didn't care that Piper was completely right about everything. For once, I did what he said and I stopped thinking about everything that could go wrong and started thinking about the here and now, and the here and now was pretty great.

I let myself get lost in sensation, forgetting everything that was causing me panic, and letting myself enjoy this one particular time when I felt like I was okay. I ran my hands through his hair and smiled quietly against his lips at the fact that it was still damp and soft to the touch, and I tried not to completely marvel at the fact that his lips were so gentle and soft, and it wasn't one of those things that was completely hot and desperate and rushed, and that we had all the time in the world for whatever this was turning into.

After what felt like an eternity, I felt myself slip from the ground and into the air, and I was under the impression that I was being carried, but I wasn't sure until my back hit the soft comforter of my bed because I'd kept my eyes shut the entire time, fearing that if I opened them, I'd wake up, and this would all be an illusion, and I really really didn't want it to be because I had come to terms that I had feelings for the idiot and there was nothing I could do about it.

And when we did get to the bed, nothing happened. It was another moment, where we stared at each other without words. I found so much depth in his eyes and it made me scared but I was reserving my thinking until later, because even though I knew this would backfire, and something was bound to change after this, at the moment, I didn't care.

This time, our looks meant something, and I knew exactly what they meant by the way his eyebrows were raised in question. He was waiting for me. He wanted me to make the choice of furthering this, or just pretending nothing happened and going to sleep without another word. I stared at him for the longest as he tucked my hair behind my ear and played with the curly strands. He was ever so patient, not rushing me or pushing me, but waiting for me, and that warmed my heart. It would've been so easy to turn back. All I had to do was say no, and he would've understood with his wonderful self because that's who he was, not some guy who I dumped coffee on, but so much more. It would've been less complicated to just say no.

But I didn't say no. I didn't want to be sitting there, always attracted to him from the side and never doing anything about it. I wanted to know Percy in every possible way there was, and this was definitely it. The fact that he was ready to accept a no without argument urged me to say yes because when does one find someone like that? Someone so caring and understanding that what you tell them won't change what they feel, and they get that maybe you're not ready, and they're willing to wait however long it takes? I said yes because I wanted this more than I wanted anything at the moment, and not in the sense that I wanted sex, but in the sense that I wanted to be as close as I could get to him on an emotional level. So when I ran my thumb over his cheek after however long it was, and his eyes flicked up to mine, I let my lips find his to answer his question.

"Are you sure?" He asked quietly, his voice full of doubt and concern, but I nodded once to show him that my choice was resolute, and it was okay. "We're screwing everything he up." He mumbled as his lips brushed against mine, and I ran my hands through his hair before letting them stop at his shoulders.

"Yeah. But it's okay." I assured him, and after that there were no more words, and for the first time in forever, I was glad that I accepted someone's dare.

* * *

**AN: Okay, so I got this review a while ago from someone that said that I was basing my characters goodness off of who had sex, and that I was basically punishing Thalia and Malcolm because they're my third ship and they had sex, so I mean, here is this. Also, at the end, when she says she's glad she accepted someone's dare that's referring to when Percy said you wouldn't dare, so just as clarification so no one gets confused. Lastly, please you guys, I'm urging you to leave a review for this chapter because it took so long, and I worked so hard on it, so please please let me know what you think. Till next time- ShyGal**


	14. Blonde & Green

**Encounters**

**AN: Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! It was definitely the hardest chapter, and the one I worked on the most, so thanks :)**

**Percy**

The first time I saw Annabeth, I didn't know it was her. It was back in eighth grade, when Malcolm and I had met in camp over the summer. It was the last day, and it was time for pick up. And that's when I saw her. Malcolm got picked up before me, and I remember watching him walk away and to his family, where he met his dad, and a girl with a head full of blonde hair. Even from a distance, where I couldn't pick up all her details, I could tell that she was gorgeous. And now, three years and countless fights later, I had the privilege of saying that she was even more gorgeous than I could've ever imagined, in every possible way.

I could say I had the privilege of experiencing trivial things with her, like getting a Starbucks Frappuccino dumped on my head. I could say I had the privilege of experiencing fun things with her, like when we danced around the fountains handcuffed to each other. I could say I had the privilege of experiencing thought provoking conversations, like when she told me about her scars, or the time she assured me that my dad loved me. But, now I could say, that the strongest privilege I had, was being able to experience the heartwarming moments with her. All the little touches that burned the skin, or just sleeping next to each other, enveloped in each other's arms, and, of course, last night.

I don't think I ever actually slept. Maybe I floated in and out consciousness, but I know for sure I never reached deep sleep. I was still trying to process the fact that she'd kissed me in the bathroom when she'd fallen asleep next to me. I was still trying to process the fact that that had happened. That had been a thing. The entire night was not a figment of my imagination.

When I finally decided to give up on trying to sleep, I shifted back as every memory of every touch from the night before came flooding back. The adorable human being looked as adorable as she always did when she was sleeping, but there was something different about her sleeping form now.

Maybe it was her hair, which looked messier than usual, due to the fact that hands had been toying with it the entire night. Maybe it was her bare shoulders, which reminded me of the tender kisses my lips had pressed against them the night before. Maybe it was the sight of the scar on her abdomen peeking out from the corner of the blanket that was covering her at the moment, which brought back vivid memories of my hands brushing over it gently, trying to convey that I cared, and that I would never do anything to hurt her.

Whatever it was, it filled the air with change, but I couldn't tell if it was bad or not. But it didn't matter. It was too late to go back now, and if I was being honest, I wasn't completely sure I wanted to go back. The night before was more than I could ever imagine. It was something that, although I knew would have repercussions when Malcolm found out, I would never regret because the emotion behind Annabeth's lips were present every time they pressed against mine, every time her hands ran through my hair, every time her wide eyes met mine. It was a given, through those actions, that she felt something for me, even if it was minimal.

I looked down at her, quickly becoming overwhelmed with what I felt for her, and the letter that was left to me to watch over her, and Luke from the coffee shop. I shook my head and leaned down, planting a small kiss on her shoulder and relishing the contact. Annabeth's body stirred, and suddenly, hazy gray eyes met mine, one eyebrow raising in question.

"You having fun there?" She asked me as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. A smile tugged at my lips and I pulled her into my side. For a brief second, she tensed, and a sense of panic coursed through my body, wondering if maybe this was a one-time thing for her. Maybe she felt nothing towards me. Maybe she just wanted a good time. And then she melted into my side, fitting her head into the crook of my neck and setting her arms on my chest lightly. My breath of relief was almost impossible to disguise. I looked over at the clock on the side table and realized we still had some time before we needed to be down in the lobby to leave.

"Are you?" I shot back once she started running her fingers across my chest. She narrowed her eyes at me and then rolled them, setting her head down on my chest. I smiled at my small victory and relished our closeness. But then the air of pleasantness evaporated. Last night had come and go, and now I had to tell her. If I didn't I'd hate myself.

"Annabeth."

"Mm?" She hummed quietly, and after earning no response from me, she shifted her body to look up at me and I sucked in a small breath. She was so beautiful it hurt, with her big bright eyes and her small mischievous smirk.

"I… I just want to tell you that last night wasn't just sex to me. I mean, I'm sure I made that kind of clear, but after last night, I think I need to be honest with you. I don't know when it started, but for some time now, I've felt things for you that I didn't know I was capable of feeling towards someone who I presumed I hated. I got close to you, what with the English project, and always being around at your house because of Malcolm, and then the lock in. When I saw your scars that day when your parents were arguing… You couldn't even understand how angry I felt on the inside, and that was when we were first starting to be friends. And then that day when we were handcuffed together and we fell after we came out of the shower. I think something in me changed that day and after that it hit me like a ton of bricks. I guess what I'm trying to say is, I have feelings for you. But I get it if you don't feel the same way, and I don't want you to think that anything will change if you don't, and I didn't want you to think I just used you last night because I didn't, and I... yeah." I ended hastily, and I stared at the ceiling, feeling my face heat up like an oven. It was quiet for some time, and I tried to prepare myself for the worst. My heart was beating a thousand beats a minute and I felt like at some point it could just stop all together. And then,

"You're an idiot." Annabeth stated, and my eyes popped open as I felt her hand rest on the side of my face and bring it down to look at her, keeping her hand there and running her thumb over my cheek. She was smirking at me quietly, but there was a slight tint on her cheeks.

"Did you think last night was a one person job? Because last time I checked, I was participating just as much as you were." Her words caught me off guard and my eyes widened.

"I-"

"I have feelings for you too, you know. Did you think you were the only one who's been affected from all the time we spent together? I got hit with the same bricks you did, even though sometimes I wonder how it came to be this way because frankly, I wasn't sure I could ever feel the things I do for someone who I presumed I hated either." I tried to register her words while a small smile etched itself on her face, and once the words were understood, I couldn't stop a smile from spreading on my face. I felt like someone could shove me off a bridge and I'd fall down laughing.

"I am an idiot." I admitted.

"Yeah. But it's okay. You may be an idiot, but you're (my) idiot, and that's all that matters."

"Your idiot? Like in a relationship?" I waited for her reaction and was surprised when I didn't see the flinch I was expecting to at the word relationship. Considering the fact that she was the most wary of relationships, I was extremely shocked. Instead, I saw a thoughtful Annabeth, one of the many sides of her that I loved.

"I didn't mean it that way, but if you want me to mean it that way I can."

"Of course I want you to mean it that way. Obviously it can't happen though. What with the feud and your brother, I think the chances of a relationship between us is .0001."

"Hey, we'll figure it out. It's not like we have to tell anyone if we decide to start dating." My attention peeked at the word dating and I pushed some of her hair out of her face.

"What happened to the Annabeth that swore off dating, huh?" She rolled her eyes at me and let out a breath.

"Maybe she wants to take a chance. Look, I know I haven't been the best at breaking the rules. But, no one would need to know about this. For a relationship you need two people, not everyone. I really need someone to beat at video games. And I want that person to be you." She stated with a mock serious expression and I almost cracked because was Annabeth Chase seriously asking me out?

"Well when am I ever gonna get an offer like that again?" I asked her as she rolled her eyes at me and I smiled at her in the most sincere way I could without completely exploding. "But seriously. I'd be stupid to reject you. Even if you are a lot to handle" I said with a smirk, and I reached up and tucked her hair behind her ear as she stared at me for the longest, a slight smile on her face.

"Percy?" She asked me, never breaking eye contact, and I wondered what she could be thinking behind those huge gray eyes of hers.

"Yep?"

"You were right. I do let the feud control me. But I'm glad I was wrong."

"I'm glad you proved me wrong. God knows I'd be too scared to ever do anything if you didn't take the initiative." I said honestly, and she laughed quietly, shuffling from underneath me.

"Malcolm's gonna be pissed if he finds out."

"You mean when he finds out." I said clearly, and she looked up at me with her eyebrows drawn together.

"When?" I nodded as I rubbed my thumb over her shoulder.

"Think about how you felt when you found out that your best friend was dating your brother. It's going to be the same way Malcolm feels when he finds out. I know he has no right to be mad because he's done the same, but let's be real. Malcolm adores you. He cares about you so much, he'd shoot air molecules if he thought they were trying to hurt you. He's going to be upset when he finds out, but he'd be even more upset if he found out by himself instead of us telling him what's going."

"I guess you're right. I just don't know how I'd tell him though. I don't think I could handle it, he'd go insane."

"Hey, we'll figure it out. Don't stress, we don't have to tell him right away."

"Yeah. I guess it's just the thought about it, really. But that'll come at a later time." She paused and looked up at me, a mock pain expression on her face before she bunched up the blanket around herself and stood. "We have to get ready to leave." She said as she grabbed some clothes from her bag, gripping the blanket to her tightly. I smiled at her and nodded in understanding, leaning against the headboard and running a hand through my hair.

As she was walking to the bathroom, she stopped at the door frame and stood there, with her hair falling down her back and her hand on the door knob. And then, quietly, she set her clothes down on the desk that was in the room, turned around still gripping the blanket around her, and walked over to me with determination. I could feel my eyebrows drawing together in confusion as she approached me, but before I could get a word out, she stopped in front of me and stared me down.

And then she placed her hand on the back of my neck and met my lips quickly. My brain went into overdrive as I sat there, still stunned about this contact even after the previous night. And I got lost in the smell of her hair, and the feel of her lips, and the way she toyed with the ends of my hair with her delicate fingers. And then the brief seconds ended and she pulled back, her fingers on her lips and her eyes wide. Her cheeks were scarlet but she let out a breath and then turned around and, marched back to the bathroom, grabbing her clothes and shutting the door behind her.

And I sat there, staring at the door, and feeling winded because what was this. I was in more trouble than I thought because when Malcolm found out, I'd be a dead man, and I knew he'd give me a chance for redemption, and he'd ask me to cut it off with her and he'd forget it happened. But I'd fallen too hard to cut it off.

Who was she with all of her flaws that made her so great? Who was she to just knock me off my feet? Who was she to make me feel so strongly about her, where I had to worry about how she was and how some stranger at a coffee shop could hurt her? She was Annabeth Chase, sister of my best friend, expecting aunt, top 5 of her class, cheerleader, debater, and wonderful, stubborn, amazing, kind, confusing, troublesome, and every other positive adjective in the world. And now, she was my girlfriend.

* * *

"How was the trip really?" Malcom asked me as soon as we were in his room. Annabeth had left to see Thalia as soon as all her bags were in her room, and even though Malcolm had already heard Annabeth assure him that the trip was fine and it went smoothly, but he was convinced that she was distraught after flying in an airplane.

"It was fine, Malcolm." I responded, crashing on a bean bag and throwing my suitcase on the ground. He gave me a look and I rolled my eyes at him. "She was a little scared at first, of course, but she didn't completely break down or anything. She got through it, it was fine. She did well at the competition, and then we had a free day. It went well." He nodded as he sat down on his bed and leaned back.

"Alright. What'd you guys do on your free day?" His question threw me off balance, but I stopped the incoming shock and pinched myself. I could tell him. I could tell him right now, and get it completely over with. I could suffer the consequences, and still feel good about the fact that I told him.

"We went out for ice cream, walked around the town and stuff." I said after some consideration. I couldn't just tell him now, it wouldn't be fair to Annabeth because she wouldn't have seen it coming. I decided that when he found out, I wanted Annabeth to be aware that he was finding out. Malcolm nodded at me as he sat down on his bed.

"You know, I'm glad you went with her. You're like a second brother for her." I tried not to cringe at his words and instead chewed on the inside of my mouth and nodded stiffly.

"So, how did the doctor's appointment go? Did you figure out the sex?" Malcolm visibly rolled his eyes as he leaned back against his pillow and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Last minute, Thalia said she didn't want to know the gender until she gave birth. She says she wants to be surprised." He waved his hands in the air as if indicating she was crazy and then smiled.

"Trouble in paradise?" He sat up quickly at these words and turned to me.

"No, of course not. I love her. I mean she's carrying my child. I don't think I'll be capable of loving any other person as much as I love her. I just kind of wanted to know if we're having a boy or a girl." He said with a look in his eyes, and I was surprised at the fact that he was being completely sincere and honest. This was Malcolm, the one who didn't stick with one girl because he refused to be tied down. The one who wanted to widen his choices, the one who always laughed when someone said the word commitment. But here he was, telling me in the most sincere way, that he was in love with Thalia, and showing me that he was stepping up to the plate of being a father.

"Wow. She must be one hell of a girl to have you claiming responsibility for the things you do. I'm proud of you." He rolled his eyes at me, but I could tell that in some deep part of his soul, he was proud of himself too. I could tell that he was starting to feel excited for a kid, even if it meant that he'd have to give up his social life, even if it would be hard because he loved Thalia dearly, and he loved the kid just as much, even if he hadn't seen it yet. A sudden knock on the door caused us to look up, and there at the doorway, stood Helen. Her gaze was sharp and ice cold, and I tried not to visibly shrink away from her as she looked over us.

"Yes, Helen?" Malcolm asked with a strong voice, not showing any sign of fear for the woman who caused so much harm to both him and Annabeth.

"I need someone to come help me lift some boxes from my closet, I need to get them in my car so I can take them to the donation drop offs." Instantly, Malcolm shot up and the face he had twisted on his face looked like he was praying to god that what he was thinking wasn't true.

"What are you donating, Helen?"

"None of your business." She responded with her head held high, but a smile of satisfaction for his reaction made its way on to her face.

"Not Mom's things, right? Her jewelry?" Her smile widened and his worst fears were confirmed.

"Seems like Annabeth had some things of hers that she was hiding from me."

"Helen you can't-"

"You will not stand here in _my_ house, and tell _me_ what I can and can't do. That woman was a disgusting rat, good for nothing other than taking what wasn't hers and getting in everyone's way. When I became a part of this family, I made it clear that I despised that woman. Why should we sit there and praise her by letting her memory live on through her possession? I told you all, I told you that her presence needed to be eradicated from this household. I gave you and your sister everything. I provided you with what you needed to survive, I've been _more_ than generous to you both. But of course, anyone who's related to that bitch can't help but have some downsides. I guess Annabeth's downside was greed. She didn't appreciate all that I gave her, and she just had to have her way, she had to stash the jewelry. That ends today. I'm tired of living in her shadow when I do so much for all of you. I'm getting rid of the rest of her things, and when your dear little sister gets home, I promise you that she will suffer the consequences." A profound feeling of anger surged through me and before Malcolm could get a word out, I sprung up.

"You can't treat them like that, you're not their mother, they deserve to be able to-"

"Who asked you?!" She paused and then laughed a little. And then, "It's like reliving that moment all over again."

"What moment?" I asked, chills running through me at the sense of insanity she was placing in the room.

"It's like I'm replaying what happened all over again. You and your stupidity, trying to act all heroic, trying to save the day, getting involved in things you shouldn't get involved in. It's exactly the same. I suggest you take a different road and change the story because if it happens the way it happened years ago there won't be much of a story tell." She said with a smile, so cynical that it chilled me to the bone.

"What are you talking about?" I asked utterly confused, but this question just made her burst into laughter. I risked a glance at Malcolm and found his face just as confused as mine.

"Oh, nothing. I just think that maybe, you shouldn't get involved in things that don't concern you. Now come help me move the boxes."

"I'm not helping you move the boxes." I said firmly, and her eyebrows raised in surprise.

"It wasn't a question. It was an order. Now come."

"Mrs-"

"Go, Percy. Just get it over with because I won't be able to do it." Malcolm croaked, and I could see that he was so disturbed by what was happening that he couldn't even speak clearly. And I stood my place for a couple minutes, staring Helen down because what kind of human tries to take someone's entire life away from them by destroying the memory of their mother? I wasn't even her kid, she had no control over me. But one more look from Malcolm pushed me to move, and I started walking, left in front of right, until I reached the closet where there were stock piles of boxes of jewelry. It felt like strips of my heart were tearing off as I stared down at the boxes full of jewelry, and finally the brown mahogany chest in the middle, with gleaming and sparkling necklaces, all of which I knew Annabeth would never wear, but that she wanted to treasure forever. In the boxes, I spotted some random pictures of the Chase's famous mother. She seemed strong and hard willed, and the look on her face on most of the pictures was determined. As I was gazing at the pictures, my eye caught on one for a split second before Helen yelled at me to pick up the boxes. In that split second I saw a green so bright it reminded me of the eyes that were in my head. But that couldn't be. Helen had never met me before.

Before I could elaborate on what I saw, I found myself moving to the drive way, putting the boxes in the car, and then backing away. And then I reacted. I couldn't let this happen. I couldn't let Annabeth and Malcolm lose some of the only things they had from their mother. So, quickly, before she could notice, I whipped my phone out, turned on location services, and threw it in one of the boxes, hiding it under a pile of photos.

* * *

**AN: Eh. I didn't think it was my greatest writing, im not too proud of it. Let me know what you guys think, till next time- ShyGal**


	15. Boxes,Baby Bumps, & Cheaters

**Encounters**

**AN: I'M SO SORRY PLEASE HATE ME FOREVER I KNOW I'M HORRIBLE. I'm sorry you guys junior year was a hell storm and I got swamped with school and ap testing and just everything im so so sorry you can hate me forever because I suck but here's the next chapter I'm sorry- ShyGal**

**Annabeth**

I watched as Thalia turned and stared at herself in the mirror, running her hand over the forming bump on her stomach. In the light of her room, she appeared to be glowing. Her hair was a bit unkempt, reaching past her shoulders for the first time in a long time, and her skin was so pale it reminded me of the snow that was starting to fall outside. She was messy, but she was Thalia, and it was just so her. I could see how she caught Malcolm's attention. She held herself in such a way that her whole existence was a big middle finger to anyone who stood in her way or gave her any type of shit. She was just so confident about everything. Even when she was telling her parents that she had a human being growing inside of her body, she did it in the same way that someone would tell their parents that they were planning on moving out, or getting a new job, or anything.

"Why my brother?" The words were out of my mouth before I could reconsider, and as soon as I'd asked she turned around and met my eyes. They were such a bright blue, unlike Malcolm's dark blue ones, and I suddenly found myself imagining what their kid would look like when it finally made its way into the world. Thalia shut her eyes and then walked herself over to me, sitting down on the bed.

"You're going to be upset, but I need to tell you how this all happened." I let out a slight smile, thinking about Percy before shaking my head.

"Trust me, I think I might be more understanding than I previously was." She shot me a confused look but I shook my head for her to continue.

"So, remember when you were in that summer exchange program in freshman year?" I nodded quietly and curled my hands together. "Well, during that first month that you weren't in school with us, we got paired up in American sign language for this project, so I came over after school and I was teaching him signs and we just started talking to each other like we'd never really talked before. I think the real reason that I grew interested in him was because he wasn't scared of me like everyone else was. I mean, you know how it is at school. People are too scared to say shit to me because I'll rip them a new one. Malcolm didn't give a fuck if I ripped him a new one. We kinda balance each other out. He's the cool and collected one, I'm exactly the opposite. It just kinda worked. After the project, I started getting feelings but I was always really opposed to telling him because he was such a player, but then, remember when you broke your leg second semester of freshman? While you were in the hospital, Malcolm kissed me in your backyard, and I punched the shit out of him, but after that we were kind of in this secret relationship thing for a while? I don't know, it just kinda worked."

"You guys have been dating for that long? And you didn't tell me?"

"I know, this is why I didn't wanna tell you, I knew you'd get mad."

"No, I'm not mad, I'm just really…surprised?" I said truthfully, not meeting her eyes and instead shoving my spoon into the pint of ice cream I was currently consuming.

"Really?" I nodded as I raised the spoon up to my lips. Brief moments went by when we were both quiet, but then she grabbed my hand quietly and met my eyes.

"Annie, I really am sorry. I should've told you, and your anger from before was totally justified. And I'm sorry about taking him away when I did. If I had told you, you would've understood. I'm sorry." I could hear Thalia's voice getting thick with emotion and I shot her a smile. Hormones were definitely not Thalia's thing.

"It's okay, really. I'm over it. I'm just here to support you now. I love you."

"I love you too." And her smile was bigger than I'd seen it her entire life. This was the rare Thalia, the one you only saw once in a million years, with shining eyes, and pearly white teeth, and light in her spirit. That's the Thalia I would remember if something ever happened to her, and I was glad that I was getting to see her now. Suddenly, the door was opened, and in came Piper, her eyes sunken, her hair in her face, and tears streaming down her face. She looked angry and sad at the same time, and I honestly didn't know what to say. But, apparently, Thalia did.

"Was it Jason?" Piper was shocked as much as I was when this was said, but she shut the door quietly behind her and dropped onto the carpeted floor.

"How did you know?" She asked as I passed her the pint of ice cream.

"Pipes, I have experience dating my best friend's brother, I'm not exactly an idiot."

"Are you saying we were obvious?" Piper asked, eyes wide.

"No, I'm saying I'm intelligent. You guys actually did a good job of hiding it, but the long glances gave you away. So what'd he do?" Piper's face fell and she dug into her ice cream.

"I found him with another girl." She said quietly, and my face fell.

"What?" Thalia and I both asked at the same time.

"I was waiting for him outside the locker rooms and it'd been like twenty minutes and he wasn't picking up his phone so I started walking around, and when I turned the corner, he was there, kissing some girl by the wall." I shook my head in disbelief as she passed me the ice cream.

"Do you know who the girl was?" I asked quickly. Piper sniffled and nodded, tucking some hair behind her ear.

"Reyna, the senior?" Thalia proceeded to spit her drink all over her bed sheets.

"The soccer player? The one who's super mega hot?" Piper glared at her but Thalia shrugged. "I mean, I'm not happy he did that to you, but you have to admit Pipes, that girl's impressive."

"What do you mean?" I asked Thalia because I was mostly unaware of this famous Reyna.

"Annie, this girl is set up to be valedictorian, she's captain of the soccer team, president of our GSA, president of our NHS, speaks three different languages, and has a full ride to NYU. Not to mention she's hot as fuck, she's so stunning even Drew envies her."

"She is amazing. I mean she's so smart and empowering, and she's absolutely breathtaking." Piper mumbled absentmindedly, causing Thalia to shoot her a questioning look. Piper caught her eyes and straightened up. "I mean, everyone knows that, she has a reputation. I can see why he likes her."

"Oh come on, Pipes. Just because they kissed doesn't mean he's in love with her. Look I'm not defending him, but why don't you go talk to both of them, and get both sides of the story."

Piper leaned back on the rug and let out a breath, and I proceeded to follow her by lying down next to her. Thalia, staring down at us, joined us right away.

"I'm scared about this baby." Thalia admitted, letting out the biggest breath of her life. Surprisingly, none of us commented, or asked if she was okay. Instead, Piper spoke.

"I'm scared about my relationship, in more ways than one."

"I'm scared that Malcolm's gonna leave me."

"I'm scared that I won't be wanted anymore."

"I'm scared that my baby won't be healthy."

"I'm scared that my depression will get the better of me again."

And they sat there, for a good five minutes, exchanging fears and confessions. I remained silent the entirety of the time, until we came to a stop where neither of them talked. I closed my eyes and let out a breath, making fists with my hands and convincing myself I could trust them. I mean it would help to be able to talk to someone about the feelings that were currently wreaking havoc on my life. So I decided I'd take a chance and tell them, but as soon as I opened my mouth, my phone rang clearly and loudly, disrupting any chance there was for me to tell them. I picked up my phone, saw that it was Malcolm calling, and hastily swiped at it.

"Hello?"

"Annabeth, it's me Percy."

"Percy? Why are you on Malcom's phone?"

"Listen, it's a long story but to cut it short, Helen found the jewelry box in your room and went ballistic, she's donating everything. I know where everything is though, so please don't panic, I'll send you the address now, we're going to get everything back. Please don't freak out, I know how you are I know you're panicking right now but just please don't, stay calm. I'm going to hang up and send you the address and you're going to get in the car and it's going to be okay. I'm going to hang up now."

And he did. And then he sent me the address and I stared at it for a good two minutes while Thalia and Piper asked me what was going on to which I responded that everything that was fine but that I really had to go because I had some things I needed to take care of. Then I got up and I felt my feet moving me down the stairs and out the door and guiding me into my car until I felt myself driving to the address that had been sent to me. And I kind of just felt numb because this was such a Helen like thing to do.

I didn't really know what to think until I got to the donation site and saw the boxes dumped by the pick-up spot. Malcolm and Percy were holding the boxes of jewelry, looking into them all the way up until the point where I jumped out of my running car to see if everything was still exactly the way it was in those boxes. Things were banged up, some were out of place, but for the most part it looked okay and that gave me some relief.

"Are you okay Annie?" Malcolm asked after a couple minutes of watching me paw through the jewelry. I looked up quietly and nodded, biting my lip hard to stop myself from expressing how relieved I was that all of this stuff hadn't gone to waste. He pulled me into a hug and I leaned into the embrace because it felt good to know that he was still there for me even though he wasn't as much as he used to be. I avoided Percy's eyes even though I knew he was staring right at me, and instead turned around and walked back to my car with a box in hand, the both of them trailing behind me and putting things in the back seats after I opened the doors.

"Listen, I'll be okay. I'm not going to get shit on by Helen, but if you come home today Annie, you will and I don't want that for you. Do you think you could find somewhere to stay tonight, maybe Thalia? You can't come back home with these boxes anyway she'll kill you. " Malcolm said as I was getting back in the car.

"Not Thalia, I don't want her to know what happened because she was asking questions earlier, plus Piper's there, too many people asking questions and I just don't need that now."

"She can stay with me tonight." Percy said, speaking for the first time since I'd gotten there. I kept my eyes steady and once again avoided his eyes while Malcolm glanced his way unsurely.

"Really?"

"Yeah, Mom's working the late shift tonight, and I can sleep on the couch so she can take the bed, it'll be fine. Plus, she can leave the stuff at my house." He assured him, linking his own hands together.

"Are you sure?" Percy nodded as Malcolm raised his eyes at me shooting me a look to see if I was fine with this. I nodded back and his face relaxed. "Alright, but please watch out for her, Annie has nightmares sometimes." I cringed, thinking about the time I had woken Percy because of a nightmare. Obviously Malcolm never knew about it because as far as he was concerned, the first time Percy and I ever shared a room was in Florida.

"Alright, don't worry she'll be fine." And with that, Malcolm jumped in his car and started it, waiting until we made our way onto the road to get on his way home. The ride home was silent, neither of us making any effort to speak about anything. As soon as we got to his house, we unloaded the boxes from the back, and walked in without a word. It was when we were putting boxes away that one of us finally spoke.

"How are you?" Percy asked, breaking the silence. I set some boxes down and let out a breath. I don't think I could've talked to him while Malcolm was there because if I had I would've just broken down all together.

"I'm okay." I lied. I was not okay. I was better now that I knew that everything was okay, but still disturbed because of the fact that eventually, I'd have to go home and face Helen. Sure, it wouldn't be as bad if I went home now, but she'd still be pissed and I was not looking forward to it.

"Come on Blondie, you think I don't know you by now?" I huffed and risked a glance at him. He looked so concerned, his cool demeanor being blown by his clenched fists and drawn in eyebrows.

"Sometimes I wish you didn't know me."

"Why?" He asked as I shoved one of the boxes in the deep ends of his closet.

"Because I'm a mess. I brought you into all of this, and I'm internally freaking out because I don't want to go home to Helen any time soon but I can't stay here forever, and-"

"Hey." He interrupted, placing a hand on mine and halting my thoughts. "You're okay. I know you're scared and that's okay. I'll be with you through it all I'm not leaving you alone I promise. You're amazingly strong, which is why I know you can get through this. I'm glad I know you, you're an incredible person." I shook my head, trying to shake away the fact that the touch of a hand brought me so much comfort even though we'd been closer before and sat down on his bed. My head felt like it was running a thousand miles a minute and I didn't know how to focus.

"You wouldn't have these problems if you didn't know me Percy, you wouldn't have had to pack anything up today, you wouldn't have to deal with my mess."

"That's not true, Malcolm is still my best friend, I would've still been around if you decided to kick me out of your life." He said, sitting down next to me.

"Sure but at least your interactions with Helen would've been lessened if you didn't know me." He let out a breath and locked eyes with me. They were so bright and full of so many things that I couldn't read that I just didn't know what to do with myself other than sit there and stare back at him.

"Listen. I'm going to be there for you no matter what. You can try and kick me out of your life, you can ignore me, you can do whatever you want, but it doesn't matter because I'm still going to be here. I know you're more than capable of being able to care for yourself, but help is good too. I'm not trying to paint you as some damsel in distress because I know you're not like that, you're so strong and determined and wonderful, but I want you to be able to know that you can come to me if you need something. I don't care that you're dragging me into your mess because this is something important and I want to be able to help. I just want you to know that I'm going to be watching out for you, and that's not going to change if you decide to kick me out of your life."

And it was one of the very rare occasions in which I didn't have a comeback, or a witty remark, or anything. I just continued sitting there in silence, until I managed to say the word okay while gripping the comforters like my life depended on it, the minutes ticking by. Finally, after what seemed like forever, I felt a shift on the bed which turned out to be Percy getting up with a pillow and a blanket in hand.

"Where are you going?" I asked as he started walking towards the door.

"I said I was sleeping on the couch remember?"

"You're actually going to sleep on the couch?" I asked, legitimately confused. He raised an eyebrow at me, a smirk playing on his lips before he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Are you saying you want me to stay?"

"Are you being serious right now?" He shrugged casually, leaning against the door and I instantly knew that he was trying to get me to ask him to stay because he knew how stubborn I was and he knew that this would hurt my pride dearly.

"I mean I'll stay if you want me to, but I need verbal affirmation, I wouldn't want to impose or anything."

"Percy, come on."

"What? I'm just being nice, you're a guest you deserve your own space."

"Percy we've slept in the same room before."

"Okay?"

"We've slept in the same _bed_ before."

"And?"

"WE HAD SEX." He cracked a smile and stared at me.

"That doesn't mean you want me to stay."

"This is_ not_ fair."

"I don't know what you mean. I guess I'll be going now."

"Seriously?"

"Goodnight." He drawled out, faking a yawn and opening the door. I rolled my eyes at him and crashed my face into my hands.

"Okay fine." I yelled out and he turned around in the doorway.

"Yes?"

"I want you to stay." I mumbled quietly, glaring at him in the process.

"What's that? I can't hear you."

"I want you to stay." I said a bit louder.

"Huh? Still can't hear you."  
"God damn it Percy. I really would like it if you stayed." I yelled, falling back on the bed with my arms crossed over my chest. I heard his footsteps approach me as he shut the door behind him and before I knew it, he was leaning over me, his hands on either side of my head, our faces inches apart.

"If you wanted me to stay so bad you could've just said so, Blondie." He whispered quietly, the smirk never leaving his face. And then he backed away, throwing the things he had gathered on the bed and leaving me flustered.

"I really hate you." I stated as I sat up and backed up against the headboard.

"Oh really?" He asked as he joined me on the bed, flipping the TV on. "Because the color on your face says otherwise."

"I really_ really_ hate you."

"You love me, don't even lie." He said teasingly.

"I hate you." And the night went away in a teasing manner, with heartwarming moments, and a facade that everything would be okay.

* * *

**AN: I know it's not all that great I'm not too proud of it but I felt bad waiting any longer because it's been like a thousand months. Anyway, leave me a review because reviews help me write faster and give me motivation, and also tells me if I did good or not. Till next time- ShyGal**


	16. Missed Texts & Blunts

**Encounters**

**AN: PLEASE READ. HELLO LOVELIES. I still feel really bad that I went away for so long, so I've been working extra hard on these next couple chapters to make it up to you. A couple announcements about this chapter and some upcoming chapters. Basically, I have most of the rest of the story already mapped out, but for this chapter and maybe some upcoming chapters, POVS might be varying within the chapter. Specifically for this chapter, Percy's pov is going to be a little shorter than usual because I'm introducing a new POV this chapter! This chapter, POVS will be split between Percy and Piper. Next, in one of these upcoming chapters I'm going to be covering a subject that might be triggering to some readers, and in that case I will post a trigger warning in the very beginning of the chapter. That's all, I'll stop talking now so you guys can get on ****with the chapter- ShyGal **

**Percy**

Over the next few weeks, Annabeth and I had worked out such a structured schedule that it was almost impossible for it to go wrong. Obviously we couldn't just be together because of the feud and Malcolm, so we had to figure out a way that we could still be together while technically not being together. It would be small things like gripping my hand as we passed each other in the hallway, or meeting up during the 8:30 while everyone was too busy trying not to get trampled to really notice two inconspicuous students talking to each other before class. Every Thursday and Saturday, Annabeth and I would meet up and hang out, or as we told anyone who asked, work on class work because Annabeth was tutoring me. Now, it was a Friday night post the football game, and the team was headed out for celebration on making playoffs. I made my way out of the locker room quietly and crossed over to the underside of the broken bleachers, spotting a sparkly uniform under the stadium lights.

"Took you long enough." Annabeth said, a smirk painted on her face, arms crossed over her chest. Her face was covered in glitter and the number 17 was painted on one of her rosey colored cheeks.

"Did you really want me to come meet up with you smelling like a pig?"

"Are you saying that you don't smell like a pig now?" She asked snarkily, her eyes lighting up quietly. I rolled my eyes at her and snatched her up in my arms quickly, picking her up from the ground and ignoring her squirms and short protests.

"Well if I do now you smell like one too." I replied grinning against her glitter covered face. Friday nights brought out the Annabeth that I rarely got to see. It was the one that had to be cheery for the rest of the school, and I personally found it hilarious that she had to act that way because I knew that on the inside she was one more cheer away from exploding.

"You're an ass."

"Yeah but you know you love me." I said, planting a kiss on her forehead. "Now listen, I have to get going because the team is going out for celebration tonight, but text me when you get home?"

"Yeah, alright. Have fun you dork, watch out for Malcolm." And then she met my lips quickly and left without looking back.

And that's how we worked. It wasn't ideal, but it was what we could do without risking collapse of the entire system that was Goode. I watched as she walked away, her curly ponytail bobbing up and down with each step, and smiled quietly at myself. For a moment, I felt like maybe this could work.

"Percy!" Someone yelled from the locker rooms, and I looked over to see Malcolm now changed and carrying his sports bag over his shoulder. "What are you doing under the bleachers, let's go, the team is waiting for you!" I ran over to him and together, we walked over to his car. "So what were you doing under the bleachers?" Malcolm asked as we pulled out of the parking lot and started making our way to Beckendorf's.

"I just needed some fresh air." I lied, not making eye contact.

"And you decided to go get it under the dirty old bleachers?" He questioned curiously.

"It was the first place I could think of, I really just needed to clear my head." He nodded as we got onto Beckendorf's street.

"So how are those tutoring sessions going with my sister?" I froze, my fists balled up by my sides.

"Good, she's really good at what she does, I'm grateful."

"I'm glad she's doing it, she's out of the house more often so she doesn't have to see Helen as much." He stated as we parked and I let out a small breath. He didn't know, we were still okay. We had to tell him eventually, but tonight was not the night. I nodded as we got out and walked into Beckendorf's house. Most of the team was already there, lying around in the spacious living room while sipping unknown drinks from red cups. I sat down on a random couch as someone passed me a drink that I set down on a table and never planned on touching again. Some of the guys already looked tipsy and I knew this was a recipe for disaster.

"Hey you guys, if you could date a cheerleader who would you choose?" Asked Ethan from the floor, and the responses were varying. Jason proceeded to spit his drink out everywhere, Malcolm's eyes narrowed instantly, and every other guy looked extremely wary at the subject of cheerleaders.

"Why does it matter, it's not like we can actually date them." One of the other guys said from the floor.

"It's a hypothetical." Ethan grunted, and I stayed completely silent as guys slowly started answering. I checked my phone while people were drunkenly saying names and saw that Annabeth still hadn't texted me that she had gotten home. I shook off the feeling of concern and tried to reason with myself. She could've just forgotten, or gone to sleep straight away, or stopped for food and hadn't gotten home yet. As I was trying to think logically, someone's response snapped me out of my daze.

"I always thought Annabeth was nice." Some random guy said, and after those words left his mouth, I knew some serious shit was about to go down.

* * *

**Piper**

The entire situation with Jason and Reyna was eating me away from the inside out, for more reasons than one, and I just wanted to get it resolved already. Jason knew that I wasn't talking to him but, as if it wasn't bad enough, Reyna and I got paired up on a small project for Spanish class that Friday, and since I wouldn't have much other time that weekend to work, we both agreed that after the game, I'd go crash at her house and then we'd get the project over with bright and early the next day. It's what worked best for both of us because Reyna said she wasn't fooling around with this project, and I just wanted to get the entire thing over with. So now here I was, waiting for Ms. Valedictorian after the game, bag in hand and ready to get to her house. Someone cleared their throat behind me and I turned in the empty stadium to meet Reyna's dark, narrowed eyes.

"Are you ready to go, Princess?" She asked with a bite in her voice, and I tried to keep myself together. Instead of responding I just nodded, and after she got an okay, she signaled for me to follow her and we walked to her car together. I watched as her braid swayed against her back as she walked and I bit down on my lip quietly until we got to her car.

The ride to her house was silent, and as soon as we got inside, I stopped and stared in awe. Reyna's house was dark and spacious, with marble statues surrounding the dining table, and purple robes and curtains hanging off of random pillars. There was a dim light over the living room, and so many doors that I couldn't even count.

"Hey, Princess. My room's upstairs, come on." She stated snapping me out of my trance. I swallowed and followed her upstairs. Reyna's room was covered with various pictures of her with the soccer team, and some random girl with a beanie. There were some soccer trophies lying around, and a couple pair of old cleats near her bed.

"Are your parents not home?" I asked while continuing to look around the miscellaneous items in her room.

"Nope, off on a business trip. Will you pass me that purple gown behind you?" Reyna asked, and I looked away from all the trophies to see her shuffling around in her bag shirtless. I felt a rush of blood flood my cheeks as I stared at her, and she looked up from her bag to meet my eyes.

"What, have you never seen a shirtless girl before? I mean you are a cheerleader, I'd expect this to be something normal for you." Instead of replying, I passed her the purple gown and looked away as she slipped into it, wanting nothing more than to not be here with her.

"You can go change in the bathroom, I'll be out in the balcony if you need me." She stated, and then she turned away and marched away. I grabbed my stuff and made myself to what I presumed was the bathroom letting out a breath of relief as I saw that I was right. I changed quickly into the shorts and shirts I brought to sleep in and threw my cheer uniform in my bag, staring at myself in the mirror. I let out a breath and shook my head.

"You can do this Piper, it's just one night for the project and then you won't have to talk to her ever again." I said to myself, and nodded as I grabbed my stuff and exited the bathroom. I looked out to the balcony and sure enough I saw Reyna leaning against it with her hands in front of her face. I made my way out to the balcony and was instantly hit with a scent that I'd never recognized before.

"Hey, I just wanted to ask you what time you wanted to- OH." I stopped abruptly as she turned towards me and let out a puff of smoke. She let out a laugh as she threw her head back and I didn't know what else to do but stare at her in confusion. Ms. Valedictorian was smoking?

"What, have you never seen somebody smoke before?" She asked as she crossed one leg over the other.

"No, I just didn't know you smoked cigarettes, I was just surprised." I said quietly, toying with a piece of my hair and not meeting her eyes. Reyna stared at me and then busted out laughing all over again.

"I'm smoking weed not cigarettes, have you never smelled weed before?" She asked jokingly, but her face fell when I nodded. "Oh my god you poor child, you're missing out. Do you want some? It's a good stress reliever."

"Um, I think I'm okay, isn't weed supposed to be like a gateway drug?"

"That's bullshit." She said as she tossed her now lose hair over her shoulder.

"But-"

"The Yale study." She said, cutting me off as she took in another puff.

"What?"

"There was a Yale study that found that cigarettes and alcohol have more of a "gateway effect" than marijuana. Plus, correlation's not causation, there's no actual evidence that proves the gateway effect."

"Isn't it still bad for you though?" I asked while noting the fact that even while she was getting high she was still trying to use reason and logic to justify it.

"Actually it's found that it's less addictive than tobacco and alcohol, and no one has ever overdosed from marijuana before, meanwhile people die from over intoxication all the time when it comes to alcohol. But obviously alcohol is _so_ much safer. Anymore questions?" She said the last part sarcastically, rolling her eyes in the process.

"Why do you do it? I mean you're supposed to be the one who's perfect at everything, the one who's got everything together with your whole life ahead of you. " She glanced over at me and pulled the blunt away from her lips before letting out the smoke.

"And that's exactly it, isn't it? I'm supposed to have everything together, and because of that everyone seems to forget that I'm a human just like everyone else. Don't you think it's a little overwhelming that everyone looks up to me? Everyone expects me to always be ahead of the game, and that pressure isn't really appreciated. I have a scholarship to a university I don't even want to go to, and I'm head of more clubs than I can count. I need something that'll keep me sane throughout the stressful times." She finished, looking away, and for the first time that night, I let go of the thoughts about Jason and the kiss, and just saw her for the stressed out girl she was.

"Now, last chance to try it, are you up for it or not?" She asked as she held the blunt out to me. "You don't have to if you don't want to, just thought I'd offer." She assured as I stared at it warily. I looked between her and the blunt and took a breath. Without thinking about it I took the blunt from her and held it up to my lips, taking a drag of it. And then I ended up in a coughing fit, which Reyna responded to by laughing her ass off.

"Slow down, Princess. Take a drag, hold it in, and then let it out, don't just go all in." She said while laughing, and it took every ounce of strength I had to not glare at her.

* * *

"One time I tried to climb a tree while I was high off my ass and I fell so hard that I bruised my rear." Reyna admitted through fits of laughter sometime after we'd finished the blunt. We were currently lying on her bed in the middle of a thumb war and my head was still feeling fuzzy from the high. It felt pretty liberating doing something that people said I wasn't supposed to do, and any worries I had before I smoked were wiped away because Reyna was right when she said it was a stress reliever.

"One time I wanted a snickers bar from a convenience store but I didn't have enough change so I tried to flirt my way to getting a discount." I responded, pinning her thumb down with mine and then laughing at the fact that we were thumb warring. Reyna, for whatever reason found the snickers story incredibly funny and busted out laughing. I looked around her room with a small smile, first noting that the clock on her night stand read 2:50, and then seeing the random girl from the photos again.

"Who's this girl in your photo?" I asked her, pointing to one of the photos on her nightstand. Reyna followed the direction I was pointing to and then looked back at me.

"That's my ex- girlfriend, Lauren."

"You like girls?" I blurted out without thinking and she let out a small laugh.

"Uh, yeah that's why I'm a lesbian, which should also clear up the whole thing about Jason." She said, shooting me a look, and it took everything in my power to not gape at her. She raised an eyebrow at me and smirked.

"What, you thought I didn't know that you were dying to ask me about the whole kiss thing? Well let me tell you that he came on to me, I didn't want any part of that because I'm not into guys." I stared at her for a second while processing the new information provided to me and was surprised when I found that I was more relieved than upset by this. Sure, it hurt, but I was dealing with some things in my life at the moment, and with everything that was going on, it felt better for me to know the truth than to just be left in the dark.

"So why'd you guys break up?" I asked, changing the subject away from Jason.

"Well, I invited her over one time and introduced her to my parents as my friend. Over dinner, they started spouting some really homophobic bullshit and she wasn't gonna stand for it so she left me. She said the only way she'd ever consider getting back with me is if I outed myself to my parents, but there's no way I was gonna do that. That's also another reason why I don't want to go to NYU. I want to leave New York because of my parents. If I stay here I'm going to feel trapped, I just want to be myself. With my parents it's always about being perfect, it's about being the best. If I stayed here either I wouldn't be happy because I wouldn't be out, or I would be out and then they'd look at my sexuality as just another disappointment. I just need to be able to be in a place where I can be myself, I don't want to be looked at as a mistake anymore, I just want to be enough." She ended as she stared up at the ceiling, the hazy look in her eyes almost gone.

"Hey," I said, grabbing her hand to get her attention. "What Lauren did was wrong, nobody should ever feel forced to out themselves when they're not ready. I've learned more about you in the last three hours than I ever thought I would, and honestly, first thinking about spending the night with you and having to do this project, I was ready to run for the hills. But then we talked, and I realized that you're so much more than what everyone thinks of you. You're more than just smart, you're funny and creative and goofy, and when you left yourself stop being so serious, you can be extremely fun to talk to. You're kind and independent and strong, and you have a character that others would be lucky to have, and that's great. You shouldn't let yourself listen to what anybody, not even your parents say about you because what others think about you don't matter it's how you think about yourself and I can assure you that you're an amazing person. You're not a mistake. You're already enough. _I_ think you're enough."

There were rare moments, out of the time I'd known Reyna, that she stayed quiet. Reyna was always one to speak her mind and tell it like it is. But now, she was deathly quiet, and I didn't have to be an expert to know that something in the atmosphere had changed by now. Her dark eyes were, for once, not narrowed and scrutinizing. Instead they were big and there was emotion behind them that I couldn't read. Something about this felt different to me, and it terrified me to think what it was, but looking at the way her dark hair framed her face and her skin shone under the dim light of her room, I knew that something inside me shifted.

And then someone moved and someone else consented and lips were on lips and someone else moved and before I could really understand what was happening, the girl I swore hatred on was half on top of me, and I was making no effort to stop her.

* * *

**AN: Okay did anyone see that coming though because I was v v excited to write the Piper POV omg you guys don't even know there's so much more shit that's gonna go down. Percy's POV was super short but I promise it'll get back to it's normal length soon(ish). Anyway, drop a review if you feel like it, I know this chapter is shortish but it worked hard and I'd like to know what you guys think! Till next time- ShyGal**


	17. I'm not okay or into girls

**Encounters**

**AN: TRIGGER WARNING: This chapter is going to be covering the subjects of sexual assault. It's really important that if any of my readers are sensitive to this subject, they know that a good first half of this chapter is going to be covering that subject, and if you're impacted by that skip over it and I'll summarize what happened in the AN at the bottom of the chapter. I'll also put a notice of where you can start reading if you choose to skip over the first half of the chapter. Please please read the AN at the bottom of the chapter - ShyGal**

**Annabeth**

When you hear about bad things, you never expect them to happen to you. They can happen to other people, but they could never, in a million years, ever happen to you. When you hear about something bad happening to someone you don't know, you get angry at the injustice they've faced, but after some time you stop thinking about it because you don't know that person so why would it stay in your mind? Sure, it's horrible, but you can't be expected to remember every single injustice that some random strangers have faced. When you hear about something bad happening to someone you know, it hits closer to home. Now, it's more real. You realize that bad things happen to people all the time, and if it happened to someone you know, who's saying it won't happen to you? Instead of being angry, you're scared because now it's close, but you try to calm yourself by reminding yourself that even if the bad situation happened closer to you, it still probably wouldn't happen to you. You go over all the statistics, and you calm yourself by telling yourself that the chances of something actually bad happening to you are small. You try to sympathize, you try to understand, but you always live with this small voice in your head telling you that that could never happen to you. You tell yourself this enough times that in your mind, it becomes true, and then you continue living your life being naïve. On Saturday, at 12:05 am, I realized that that naïve person was me. I didn't realize it right away because I didn't know there was a threat at first. It was just me, walking through the dark parking lot that was on the other side of the school, trying to get to my car so I could be on my way home.

At 11:30 on Friday night, I realized the parking lot was completely empty, and there was no one else there. The naïve part of me was trying to reassure me. It would be okay, it told me, because I'd walked through this parking lot alone multiple times there was no reason that that night should've been any different. Still, I walked a little faster towards my car.

At 11:32, I saw my car in the parking lot and almost let out a breath of relief. I was going to get in my car, drive away, and go to bed. That's all I wanted that night.

At 11:35, I got to my car, and my anxiousness to get home caused me to drop my keys by the door. Someone picked them up for me and rung the keys around one finger.

At 11:36, I met the blue eyes of a person that I'd seen at a café in New York City weeks before. The person gave me a smile that was supposed to be heartwarming, but inside I felt cold, and the fact that the parking lot was empty came back to me. Sometime between 11:38 and 11:40, a gun was whipped out, a threat was made, and I was told to get in the car.

Between 11:40 and 12:00, I was in a car with a guy who was threatening to kill me if I didn't comply with what he said. He made it clear that if I even reached for my phone I'd regret it.

At 12:00 am on Saturday morning, I was forced out of the car and into an apartment. Looking back at it, it was odd that he didn't take any of my belongings, but my brain was racing too much at the time for me to have taken that into consideration.

At 12:05 I was thrown down on a bed. I said no, and I squirmed, and I screamed, and I yelled, and I pulled away as much as I could but it was no use.

At 12:49, he stated that he was done with me and proceeded to throw the clothes he had ripped off of my body back at me. He sat me down and told me that if I said a word, that would be the end of Malcolm, and Percy, and any other person that I cared about. How he grew to learn so much about the people I loved was beyond me. He told me to sit down on the couch, and then sat down next to me. He told me that maybe if I had been compliant this wouldn't have happened, that if I just did what I was told and stayed out of business that didn't concern me, I could've avoided this. He told me that this was well deserved and that I should be grateful that that was all he did because it could've been so much worse. He threw my keys back at me, gave me a pat on the back as if we were old friends, and then said, "You know, I'll miss you. Maybe there'll be a next time" as he shoved me out the door.

At 12:57, I got in my car, and drove home feeling nothing but numb. My body ached, and my head pulsed, and my eyes were blurred, and I was not okay. At one point, I considered wrecking the car on purpose.

At 1:09, I got home and the first face I saw when I dragged myself through that door was Helen's. She was sitting in an arm chair, and when my face popped up, she looked up at me and gave me a smile so deathly sweet I could feel a cavity forming. She went through the formalities of asking me how I was and I lied partly because I knew she didn't care, partly because obviously I was not fine by the way I looked, and partly because something in the back of my head told me she already knew exactly how I was.

At 1:12, I marched upstairs and sat down on my bed trying to clear my head, but every time I tried to tell myself that it would be okay, I remembered the way his mouth smelled like tobacco. Any thought I had brought me back to the event, and my head pulsed just thinking about it. I wanted to scream, or yell, or something, but instead I sat there like a stone.

At 2:18, the thinking became too unbearable, so I grabbed my stuff and went to take a shower, attempting to scrub away the feeling of nails on my body. I felt disgusting and nasty, and I scrubbed so hard my skin went raw and I was red all over. For a while I just sat in the shower, letting the water run. When I got out, I looked at myself in the mirror and at that moment I wanted nothing more than to peel away my skin to get any particle from the scene away from me, but instead I went back to my room.

From 3-5 am I did nothing but sit on my bed and stare at a wall, the words that Luke spit at me before I left repeating themselves in my head. I couldn't sleep because when I closed my eyes the scene from that night became more vivid.

At 6:17, I made my way downstairs and came back up to my room with a bottle of whiskey and a glass. My plan was to get so drunk I passed out, so then I could sleep. That plan didn't work.

From 6-11, I tried to distract myself from what had happened. I played a game, I read a book, I did anything I could think of to get my mind off of things.

And now, at 12:21, I picked up Percy's phone call.

"Hey, Blondie." He greeted, sounding happy and vivacious and everything that I wish I could feel right now but I felt nothing.

"Hey." I responded, trying to sound exactly the opposite of how I felt.

"It's Saturday, are we still up for our hang out?"

"Sure." I choked out, even though the last thing I wanted to do right now was leave the house.

"Great, when do you think you can be here? I have video games set out so we can fight to the death." I cracked a small smile and shook my head at him even though he couldn't see me. Then I realized that I was still under the influence, and there was no way I was going to risk driving over there. That meant I had to walk. The mere thought of going out into the streets made me want to hurl. A picture painted itself in my head of someone dragging me away into an ally because I decided to walk that day.

"Actually, my head kind of hurts, do you think you could just come with Malcolm and then we could drive together?" I asked awkwardly, hoping he didn't think the request was too bizarre.

"Sure, that should be fine." And it was fine, and he came and drove us to his house. I knew that I looked like a mess. I had no motivation to do anything, so I left the house in sweats and a huge t- shirt with my hair looking like I'd gone through a hurricane. But Percy, graciously, didn't say anything, and for that I was grateful.

"So how are you, Blondie?" He asked as we sat ourselves down on the couch.

"I'm okay, just tired I guess." He glanced over at me and frowned.

"Yeah, it looks like it, your eyes are bloodshot. Do you want some tea?" He asked, sounding concerned.

"Yes, that'd be great." I replied as I followed him into the kitchen, making sure to not make eye contact.

"You never texted me last night, I got kind of worried." He stated as he put some water to boil and then turned to me.

"Yeah, sorry, my phone just ran out of battery and I didn't have a charger." I lied, swallowing quickly. It made me sick how quickly I could come up with lies.

"It's okay, I was just scared something bad happened." He said as he got closer, and the panic sensors in my brain turned on. I suddenly felt small and weak and I wanted to get away. The moment I saw him leaning in for a kiss I jumped away. He shot me a hurt and confused look and I hugged myself as I stared at the floor.

"Um, sorry, I just think I'm getting sick and I wouldn't want to get you sick."

"Why did your breath smell like alcohol?" He questioned, ignoring my justification for pulling away. He poured some boiling water into a mug and then placed the tea packet in it.

"Thalia and I were celebrating the fact that you guys made the playoffs last night." I said quickly, and he turned and shot me a look. "I mean, obviously not Thalia because she can't drink, so I stupidly decided to drink for the both of us. It was dumb."

"You shouldn't drink that much, Blondie, you could end up getting over intoxicated." He said as he walked over to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. I stiffened under his touch and swallowed, trying not to jump. It didn't matter that it wasn't Luke because any touch jumped me back to the night before, and I was on the edge.

"I know, it was stupid. Just happy for you guys." I said as he passed me the tea, and I let out a breath of relief as he backed away from me. Even though I knew I was safe, I felt trapped in my own mind.

"Thanks. Now, let me tell you about what went down at the celebration last night." He started as we got back to the couch, and when we did I made sure that the distance between us was great.

****IF YOU SKIPPED OVER THE FIRST HALF OF THE CHAPTER YOU CAN START READING NOW****

* * *

**Piper**

I wasn't into girls. I liked guys, and I'd had sex with guys before. I wasn't into girls. I'd never had feelings for a girl before, I'd never dated a girl before, so I wasn't into girls. I wasn't into girls.

When I woke up that morning, I didn't know what to think. My head had been in the crook of Reyna's neck, our legs were intertwined with each other's, and I could feel her bare skin under the covers. And I wasn't into girls. I remember staring at her sleeping face and thinking about how peaceful she looked with her long hair framing her face and her face so relaxed, and then I stopped myself because I remembered that I wasn't into girls.

The fact that I was aware of what happened last night troubled me because I wasn't into girls. I'd been shocked to learn that our lips molded with each other's so well, but I wasn't into girls. I was aware that she'd made me feel like I'd never felt before, but I wasn't into girls. I wasn't into girls. That's the only thing that I would allow myself to think about the entire time I was awake, and that's what I was thinking about now. I felt a stir and was snapped out of my thoughts when Reyna's dark eyes met mine.

"Hey." She said roughly, rubbing her eyes with her hands to get the sleep out of them. I moved away from her and leaned against my elbow.

"Hi."

"What time is it?" She asked, and before I could answer, she crawled out of bed completely naked and started to stretch. I could feel my face heating up and she turned to look at me as she stretched her arms behind her head. She raised an eyebrow at me and my mouth popped open.

"Oh, um, it's 10:12." I blurted out, while repeating the phrase I'm not into girls in my head. She tilted her head to the side as if she was thinking and I watched quietly as she turned to her wardrobe and started braiding her hair back.

"Alright, so I say we get breakfast downstairs, and then at 10:30 we start working on the project. Does that work for you?" She asked as she slipped a sports bra over her head and I was so confused as to what was happening that all I did was nod.

* * *

"This should be more than enough for Monday, I can fix up the conjugations later, so basically we're good to go. Do you need a ride home?" Reyna asked a couple hours later after we'd successfully finished the project. If I was being honest, Reyna did most of the work because I was not paying attention to half the things she was saying. The entire time I was reminding myself that I wasn't into girls.

"Um, Thalia's actually, she's not feeling well so I'm going to go keep her company." I told her, and she nodded and stood up, gesturing for me to follow her downstairs.

The ride to Thalia's house was filled with silence, and in my head I was tearing myself apart. I wasn't into girls, I'd never been into girls. We pulled up in front of Thalia's house and I turned to Reyna.

"Listen, before I go, I think we should talk about last night." I said quickly because I knew if I took my sweet time I'd never get it out. Reyna turned to me and gave me a look.

"Me too actually. I didn't know that you were into girls." She commented as she messed with the stereo and I cringed.

"I'm not into girls, that's what I was going to tell you." I said timidly. She looked up from the stereo and raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean you're not into girls?"

"I mean, I'm not attracted to girls, I don't like them. I'm straight." She paused and then leaned back in her seat.

"Were you still high when you first kissed me last night?" She asked seriously.

"No, I was conscious."

"Then what do you mean you're not attracted to girls?"

"I mean, I've never liked a girl. I'm into guys." I said as I played with the ends of my hair in an effort to not have to look at her.

"You realize that just because you're into guys doesn't mean you can't be into girls right? Because the way you were acting last night totally contradicts your whole "I'm not attracted to girls" statement." She said bluntly, meeting my eyes again.

"I mean, you got on top of me." I defended, and her eyes narrowed.

"Sure, but did you forget that you initiated the entire thing? _You_ kissed _me_ first."

"You didn't have to kiss me back." I retorted, ignoring her statement that I had, in fact, initiated the entire thing. At hearing this Reyna gave me the most confused and shocked look she could muster.

"Why the hell wouldn't I kiss you back? We were having a moment and I felt something, you initiated a kiss so I kissed you back."

"You didn't have to." I repeated, confused as to what was happening right now because if I wasn't wrong Reyna sounded hurt.

"Are you really trying to blame the fact that we had sex on me?"

"No, I'm just trying to tell you that I'm not into girls." I said, getting heated for whatever reason. I could feel this turning into an argument and I wanted to run away. Reyna scoffed and shot me a look.

"Oh, that's rich, really because it's not like you consciously initiated sex with me. Last time I checked I'm a girl." I threw my head against the back of the seat and shook my head.

"Last night was a one-time thing, I'm not into girls. I was just in the moment and I-"

"Oh, please save the bullshit for someone who's actually willing to buy it. Whatever Piper, fine, sure, let's sit here and pretend that what happened last night didn't happen, it was totally just a heat of the moment kind of deal, and it won't ever happen again because you're oh so straight and totally not into girls." She said angrily and then her eyes narrowed and she turned to me. "If you're really not into girls, then what you did is even more messed up now because you knew how I felt at the time and you totally used the fact that I was sensitive about something so you could get in my pants. How can you be so manipulative?"

"Reyna-"

"Look, I have to go, I hope your situation with Jason gets fixed." She snapped, and I took that as my cue to grab my stuff and leave. As soon as I got out of the car she drove away and I was left standing on the curb thinking about the words I'd just said.

* * *

**AN: alright so a couple things about this chapter. 1) If you skipped over the first half of the chapter that covered sexual assault, basically what happened was that Luke threatened Annabeth in the parking lot, took her away, she was sexually assaulted, and then it just covers how she felt afterwards, and the fact that she's lying about it to Percy. 2) ****The second half of the chapter deals with confusions about sexuality. I know right now it seems like what Piper did and said is kind of heartless, but speaking from experience in those types of situations a person can become really confused about themselves and what they like. 3) This is a really heavy chapter and it was difficult for me to write, and I sincerely hope that nobody got upset or triggered by it. 4) Lastly, the reason that I covered the subjects of sexual assault and confusions on sexuality is because first, as a writer, I want my stories not only to be at least a little realistic, but also to cover issues that actually matter in the real world. We don't talk about these things nearly enough and that's something we should change so we can all become more aware. The truth is that these kinds of things happen all the time, and it's disgusting and wrong and we all need to be more aware about these types of situations, and second, LGBTQ+ issues and personas are under represented in media and entertainment, and because of that we never really get to see the issues or struggles that come with being confused about your sexuality. I really really hope this chapter didn't offend anyone or hurt anyone or anything because the entire reason i write is so I can impact others in some way. Till next time- ShyGal**


	18. Bottles and Birthdays

**AN: Welp. No time no see. I honestly probably won't ever stop saying the words sorry. I've had the worst writers block. At one point, I was really just considering never writing again. It was unbearable. But recently, someone reviewed on my story telling me about a story Average Canadian wrote that was partially inspired by me, and after I read it, I regained motivation to keep writing. So here I am. I'm really sucky, and this chapter is probably really sucky, but what can you do honestly. Im sorry you guys :/**

**Percy**

The days after the playoff game turned into weeks and then months and then time went by so fast that before I knew it, we hit the second semester of the school year, Thalia's baby was reportedly now ten inches long, and football season was mostly over. More importantly, my girlfriend's birthday was coming up, and I'd be damned if I didn't say I had something in the works for her.

Ever since the playoff game, Annabeth had consumed herself in her studies. Our tutoring sessions dwindled down from every week, to every other week, to once a month. Anytime I'd talk to her, her voice would hold a degree of stress you couldn't ignore. These days, she was always so tense, and it was becoming increasingly hard to catch her at a good time.

I was admittedly scared for her. I was worried something was going on at home. Maybe things with Helen had become worse, or maybe she was on bad terms with Malcom again. I didn't know exactly what it was. All I knew was that something was off, and I just wanted Annabeth to be okay. When I teased her, she wouldn't even react anymore, or argue with me, she'd just let it pass and consume herself in something like a book, or her homework, or whatever she could find that was readily available. But I wanted to change that. That's why I currently found myself in one of the empty classrooms of Goode, standing in the front of the classroom with a whiteboard marker in hand, and staring back at the group of people I'd called for a meeting hastily.

"Alright! Welcome everyone! I'm glad everyone could make it on such short notice-"

"Yeah, _really_ short notice." Thalia commented, as she narrowed her eyes at me while she rubbed her baby bump.

"Yeah," Malcolm piped up, sitting up in the chair next to her, "We have a checkup appointment to get to in an hour and the center is forty minutes away."

"And I have GSA after school today." Reyna added quickly. Piper nodded quietly in agreement, while some others voiced their different afterschool plans. I felt my hope fading quickly and completely lost it when one of Annabeth's cheerleading buddies got up and marched out of the classroom.

"Guys come on! I haven't even said anything yet!"

"Percy why are we here?" Malcolm asked tiredly, swinging an arm around Thalia's shoulder. Jason nodded from the back and opened his mouth to speak for the first time.

"I-

"Look, I get it! We all have places to be today. But maybe if you guys stopped complaining so much and just let me speak, you'd all get out of here faster." And that seemed to shut everyone up. I let out a smug smile at my small success and got right to business.

"Alright. So, as you all know, Annabeth's birthday is this weekend. She's been super on edge for a while now, and I had this idea that we could maybe pull together a surprise party for her. I mean she's just so overworked right now, and I honestly think it would be a nice break for her from everything going on right now with school and her studies and stuff." I stopped quickly to gauge the reaction of my small crowd, and when no one said a word, I started rambling.

"Guys, I think she deserves it. I mean she works so hard all the time and I know she would do it for you guys and she-"

"I'm on board. We can even do it at my place." Thalia said suddenly, cutting off the beginning of my rambling.

"Yeah, me too. I think it's a great idea." Piper chimed, bobbing her head.

"Yeah, Annie deserves a break." Jason agreed, leaning back in his chair and then staring at me intently. "Who knew Jackson had a heart." He commented, and I bit back my smile while chuckles erupted from the crowd. Annabeth and I had done a spectacular job at keeping our relationship in the shadows if even Jason couldn't see it.

"Okay, great, so if we're all on board, I'll pass this piece of paper around and you guys can all put your numbers down so we can start a group chat about it, yeah?"

And with that, my small plan started forming.

* * *

The weekend of Annabeth's birthday came in a flash, and on that Saturday, I was almost as stressed as Annabeth had been for the past couple months. The party was set to be that afternoon, and as soon as I'd woken up, I'd sent Annabeth a happy birthday message, and rushed my way over to Thalia's. So here I was, currently stressing over the color of some streamers, and gripping a clipboard so hard my knuckles were turning white.

"Jason, Piper, did you pick up the cake from the bakery?" I shouted over the booming music that Thalia was currently attempting to set up correctly.

"I'm not getting in a car with him, Percy I can't." Piper told me, not caring that Jason was standing right in front of her. I rolled my eyes and let out an exasperated breath as I fixed the baseball cap on my head.

"Okay fine, go with Reyna then to pick up the helium balloons." I watched as Piper's jaw clamped shut and her face promptly flushed. As I looked up from her, I saw Reyna shaking her head at me and mouthing 'NO' at me from behind her. My hands curled into fists and I counted to ten in my head like Annabeth had taught me one day.

"Percy, Kay is completely messing up the set up at the table, I can't work with her!" Someone shouted.

"And I don't like this music!" Someone else shouted. Soon enough everyone was bickering with each other and I felt my calm slipping away through my fingers.

"I can't do this okay this is too much." Someone said, and that's when I completely lost it.

"GUYS. SUCK IT UP. YOU ARE ALL ACTING LIKE BABIES." I shouted, and everyone's voices and complains stopped instantly. I let out a breath and crossed my arms over my chest, continuing.

"This isn't _your_ birthday. It's _her_ birthday. It's the one day a year that is specifically for her. Annabeth deserves this. She deserves to listen to the music _she_ likes, with decorations that appeal to_ her_, and food that _she_ likes. Because this is for _her_. And I get it. Some of you don't like each other. But honestly, you all are being so immature about this, and that's coming from me. For one day, just suck it up, and get over your differences. For Annabeth's sake."

And then everyone stared at each other for a good minute, and then without speaking, everyone went off to do their own separate jobs. And I let out a breath.

"Okay," I started, turning back to Jason, "Jason, you can go pick up the cake. Piper, go help set up the table and the presents. Reyna, you can go get the balloons and the snacks. Is this fine?" And when they all nodded, I let myself relax. All I wanted was for this day to go smoothly so I could see a smile on her face.

I supervised the people setting up the table, over watched as Thalia set up the music, and when Jason came back with cake, let out a sigh of relief when I saw that it was the right one and at least that had gone without fault.

And then I went to go pick Annabeth up. The ride there filled me with excitement I hadn't felt in forever, and when I got to her house, I jumped out of the car so fast I almost tripped over my own two feet.

I knocked on her front door loudly, and when Annabeth's dad opened the door, I had to hide my relief in knowing that Helen wasn't there.

"Hey, Mr. Chase. Is Annabeth almost ready to go?"

"Should be. She's upstairs, you can go up there and get her if you want." And with that, I ran up the stairs with an eagerness I couldn't contain. I barged into her room and stopped in my tracks at the scene before me.

Annabeth's bed covers were thrown messily over her bed, the first sign that something was out of place. There were dirty dishes piled high on her computer desk, and books scattered all over the floor. But that wasn't what bothered me the most about the current state of Annabeth's room. What bothered me the most was the empty liquor bottles ever so subtly poking out from under the bed. As my eyes raked the rest of the room, I caught a second thing that made the earth fall down from underneath my feet. It was a small, almost inconspicuous pocket knife, opened, and laying on her bedside table.

"Perce?" A voice said from behind me, and I swiveled around to meet Annabeth's eyes. I forced a smile and tried to hide the fact that my face had gone white.

"Hey! Your dad sent me up here to get you for lunch. You ready?" She nodded quietly and I gave her a half-hearted smile. I don't know what I just saw in that room or what it meant, but if I was concerned before, now I was paranoid to the extreme.

"Alright, let's head out then." And so we went, her not really talking, and I, for the first time in a while, doing the same. I couldn't really talk. Currently I was too busy trying to figure out what was going on with her.

* * *

As soon as she stepped foot in the house I knew my surprise for her had gone wrong. I was trying to regain my excitement during the car ride to Thalia's, shoving the images of Annabeth's room in the back of my head and instead thinking about the awaiting party. When I missed the turn to our lunch destination, she turned and looked at me with eyes full of confusion, but I just keep driving, my anticipation coming back in full swing.

And then she opened the door and everyone had yelled surprise and she had stood there for minutes, with the most shocked expression on her face. And that's where we were now. No talking. No thank you's or happy birthday's, or anything. Just staring. And then,

"I'll be right back." She said quietly, and then walked away swiftly to the backyard. Everyone around shot me concerned looks, even Malcolm looking back at his retreating sister. And so I repeated Annabeth's words to them, and followed her out to the back. I found her pacing the grass, and as soon as she spotted me, her eyebrows drew together.  
"Percy, how could you do this?!" Her eyes were storm clouds, glinting dangerously, and warning of the incoming storm. I was completely thrown off.

"What?"

"I hate surprises. How could you do this, you know how stressed I am and this is just making everything worse!" Her pacing started up again and I watched as she ran both of her hands through her knotted hair.

"Annabeth I'm sorry, I didn't know. I thought this could help, maybe give you a break from everything you've been dealing with."

"Well you thought wrong." She stated, and I watched perplexed as her eyes clouded with thick heavy tears. "You should've asked me. You should've asked me instead of just assuming that I'd be okay with something like this. You should've at least tried to give me some sort of option before you just decided for me." Her voice was strained, and I could tell she was holding back sobs. And as I watched her tears streamed down her cheeks, I knew that this break down had nothing to do with the party, and everything to do with the reason she'd been so off lately.

"Okay." Her eyebrows drew together again and she let out some noise that sounded like a mixture of a scoff and a held back sob.

"Okay? That's all you have to say?"

"Yes. I know this isn't about the party. I know there's something else going on that you're not telling me, and I know that it's probably why you've been so off for a while now." Instead of replying, Annabeth stayed silent, and I watched worriedly as her crying intensified.

"Alright, come on. Let's go for a walk." And I put an arm around her shoulders, and together we walked out of the backyard, and onto the streets, not knowing where we were going.

For a while, we had walked in silence, Annabeth's crying and sniffling being the only noise filling the air. And then, after some time, Annabeth had stopped at a curb and sat and covered her face with her hands and cried some more. Every time she hiccupped, my heart broke a little more, and once I couldn't bear it anymore, I broke the silence.

"What's going on, Blondie?" She raised her head from her knees and met my eyes with her now red rimmed ones. And then her eyes filled with tears again and she shook her head.

"You know you can talk to me. That I'm here for you. You know that right?" She nodded and I rubbed her arm.

"Okay. Let's start small then. Why are you upset right now?"

"I'm overwhelmed." She stated quietly.

"And the party set you off?" She nodded.

"Okay. Is there something specific making you overwhelmed?"

"Just life." She stated, and I heard her voice getting thick again.

"Okay. Anything particular in life?" Her tears started up again and before I knew it she was rambling.

"I'm sorry, Percy. I'm really sorry," She said through her sobs. "It's not you. You're fine. It's just me. I'm just going through some stuff right now and it's a lot and it's been hard to deal with it and I haven't been able to talk about it to anyone."

"Hey, it's okay. I understand. But you know you can always talk to me, you know I'm always here, you can trust me." She nodded and she wiped away the tears that kept falling.

"I know. I know. But I just can't right now. Not now. I'm not ready. And I'm scared." I hesitated, giving her a good look for the first time in a while. Her hair was strewn messily all over her face, and the sweater she wore hung off her body loosely. She looked thin, and hollow, and not okay. And at that point I knew I couldn't stop myself from asking what I was suspecting was already true.

"Is this in anyway related to the bottles and the knife in your room?" Her breath faltered and she looked up at me, shock registering in her face.

"_You saw that?_" Her whisper was almost inaudible, and I shut my eyes, the ball of worry in my stomach growing by the second.

"Please tell me you're not being reckless. Tell me you're not hurting yourself." And her silence was enough of an answer for me. I felt my eyes filling up with tears, and I looked up to the sky, hoping for an answer from anywhere. Something that would distract me from the current situation. Just something.

And we stayed silent, and I held her as she buried her face back into her knees and cried some more.

"It's okay, Blondie." I said after a while. "You don't have to tell me right now. You don't have to tell me what's going on. I'm going to be here when you _are_ ready. I'm going to be here regardless. So take your time, and when you're ready, and you're comfortable, I'll be here." I paused and shut my eyes again, trying to keep myself under control, but when I spoke again, my voice cracked.

"But please._ Please_. Don't hurt yourself. Don't do this. I can't watch that happen, I can't just sit here knowing that you're doing this. It's going to break me. I would rather you punch me and kick me and completely pummel me to the ground to get your frustration and feelings out than you hurt yourself. I can't, Annabeth, I just can't. Please."

The only thing that was left was muffled apologies and tears. And then, when all was said and done, she met my eyes, and with a determined look on her face, set a hand on my cheek, and pressed her lips to mine in desperation. And I'd kissed her. I'd kissed her like my life depended on it. I kissed her like it was the last time I'd ever be able to kiss her again. I kissed her with every intention of translating every last ounce of emotion that I felt for her. I kissed her so hard I almost lost feeling. And unlike recent times, she wasn't tense or stiff. Instead, she returned the same urgency I felt and that made me break even more inside. It was everything I had felt between us in the past couple months. The uncertainty, the worry, the pent up concern and emotion. It was all the times I feared she was spacing herself away from me, that I was no longer important to her. It was everything. For those moments where our lips met, nothing else mattered. It was just us, together, and we could look away from the hardships of life for a sliver of time.

And when she rested her forehead on mine and started mumbling her countless sorry's once again, I'd let out a small, sad laugh and stopped her.

"No no no. You're fine. You don't have anything to apologize for. You have feelings. And that's okay. " I mumbled against her hair before I pressed a kiss to her temple. And she met my eyes with this amazingly dazed look on her face and as I wiped the tears from her face, she'd said "I love you a lot, Perce", and I'd said "I love you too, Blondie". And that was that.

* * *

I found that there were two things in this world that really and truly mesmerized me. The first was the adoring smile my mom gave me when I acted like a dumbass. She would always be number one. But coming in second was Annabeth's laugh. It wasn't just the way she laughed, not at all. It was every component involved with the laugh. It was the way she wholeheartedly threw her head back when something was particularly funny, or the way her eyes would glint, and if whatever she was laughing at was truly exceptional, how tears of joy would suddenly stream down her cheeks. When Annabeth laughed, everything just seemed to glow. That's the image I saw before me at the second.

"Oh, you should've seen your face." She gasped, as she held her sides and tried to calm down her laughter.

Sometime after the party, after everyone had left and Malcolm and Thalia went off to sleep, Annabeth and I found ourselves back in the Starbucks where it all began. We were currently discussing the look on my face when Annabeth had proceeded to dump a frappucino on my head. Even though the joke was at my expense, I couldn't help but just sit there and stare at her. This was the happiest I'd seen her in months. It didn't happen in the way I wanted it to, but regardless, it happened.

"I'm sure it was hilarious." I replied with a self-satisfied smile, and snatched the drink she was currently sipping away from her. She rolled her eyes at me, and after a while of just sitting there in comfortable silence, her eyes softened and she spoke again.

"Perce, I just wanted to tell you that I actually really did like the party. I'm sorry that I blew up in the beginning and blew everything out of proportion. It really was a lot of fun." I knew she still felt bad about her entire outburst and shook my head at her.

"Hey, you're fine. I just wanted to make your birthday special. I didn't mean to ruin it." She shrugged as I sipped the drink gingerly and then stood up promptly, gesturing to the employees cleaning up tables and putting things up in the back. So together we walked back out to my car, passing the drink between us.

"Actually," She spoke as we neared the car, "Even with everything that happened, it's probably one of the best birthdays I've had in years."

"Seriously?" I unlocked the car and climbed in, turning the engine on and then waiting until she was safely in to lock the doors again. "When was the last time you really celebrated you birthday?"

"Probably back when I was really young and mom was still alive. I remember how every year for my birthday, we'd go up to Montauk and hang out at the beach for some time. It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. My mom loved it there. After she died, Malcolm and I would ask to go for my birthday, but Helen would forbid us from going so I haven't been there in years. It was kind of my way of being able to stay close to her." She explained as she leaned over and rested her chin on my shoulder. I set a kiss down on her forehead and thought for a while.

"I'm sorry, Blondie." She shrugged and looked down even though there was nothing to look at.

"It's fine. I kind of just wanna go back some time." I could feel the idea brewing in my mind before I ever fully realized it, and suddenly I sat up and stared at her.

"What about next weekend?" I asked quickly.

"Wait what?"

"We could go to Montauk next weekend. I could take you." Her eyebrows pulled together and she lifted her head from my chin.

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah," I confirmed, starting to get excited, "I have a friend who owns a shack down there, I can probably ask him to borrow it, and we have that extra day next weekend. It'd be like a late birthday present."

I watched as her expression changed from one of complete confusion to one of anticipation and excitement, and I instantly knew I had said the right thing.

"Oh my god yes! That'd be amazing oh my god! Percy are you really being serious? We're really gonna go?" She resembled a little kid being given a lengthy curfew.

"Of course we are, Blondie. It'll be fun. And I can watch you get sun burned." I added in, and even when she swatted my arm, I could tell she was excited. That night, as I drove her home, I felt a sense of peace inside me. It finally felt like things were, for once, going to be okay. Of course, I had no idea that I was completely and utterly wrong.

* * *

**AN: Drop me a review please! I'll try to get the next chapter our soon :)**


	19. All Fun & No Stress

**AN: Hey! I don't know if you guys celebrate Easter, but if you do, happy early Easter! here's an update :)**

**Annabeth**

I looked around at the high trees and beautifully colored flowers surrounding Reyna's large extensive house through the passenger's window of Percy's pick-up truck. The last time I found myself at Reyna's house, it'd been for our first National Honors Society Christmas party. During white elephant she helped me steal the gift I wanted back from one of the other members and from then on, our friendship begun. I found that Reyna was actually pretty chill after I got past how intimidating she seemed to me. With everything going on with Thalia at the moment, and Piper being holed up with all the responsibilities of being the new cheer captain, I really didn't think I could be with either of them for more than five minutes without catching the stress they currently have. And so, I found myself in front of Reyna's house, being forced to, for the first time in a while, just forget about everything else and relax.

"Cheer up, Blondie, aren't you here to have fun?" Percy spoke, knocking me out of my contemplation. I looked away from the scenery and forced a smile while I met his eyes. In them I saw all the concern and care in the world, and suddenly my pretense smile easily slid into a real one.

"Yeah, I know. I just have so much stuff to do and-"He held a hand up and stopped me.

"Nope. Nope. You're here to relax. I don't want you talking about anything stress worthy, alright? You're gonna go in there and have some fun."

"But there's so much homework that I need to finish." I cried exasperatedly. Technically it wasn't a lie, I really did have a lot of homework to finish. However, it was currently a Thursday, we didn't have school the next day, and the due dates weren't until the middle of next week.

"Nope." He popped the 'p' and gave me a grin so wide it could probably reach the other side of the planet.

"I have an essay in my AP English 4 class that I need to write."

"Nope."

"I-"

"Annabeth will you stop finding reasons to stress?"

"But there's just so-"Suddenly, Percy jumped out of his truck and ran over to my side without a word, popping open the passenger's side door.

"Come on, out of the car." He looked at me expectantly with his arms crossed over his chest.

"_What?_" My eyebrows shot up as I planted my feet down on the floor of his car.

"Annabeth."

"Perseus." I replied in the same tone of voice, challenging him as I crossed my arms.

"So help me god if you don't get out of this car I will carry you to that door myself." When I didn't move a muscle he let out a breath and shoved his hands in his pockets, looking gravely disappointed in me.

"Alright, you asked for this." He said with a shrug, and the next thing I knew, he'd grabbed me up from my knees and tossed me over his shoulder like a potato sack. My stomach lurched and I stared at the moving pavement in complete and utter shock.

"Percy what the hell!" I'm almost positive the entire block heard my intense shriek, but the only respond I got from Percy was some deep laughter as we made our way closer and closer to the door. As soon as he set me down, I tried to turn back but there was no use.

"Did you think I was lying when I said I would do it?" He asked as he caught me in his arms before I could keep going. "Because I'm a man of my word, Blondie. I don't tell lies."

"You lied when you said you loved me. If that were true you wouldn't be dragging me here." I fired back, wanting nothing more than to go back home and dive deep into my bed, forgetting about the world.

"First of all," He started, tipping my chin up so I had to look into his eyes, "I didn't drag you anywhere, you wanted to come here, and she invited you. Second of all, I'm oh so sorry I'm not letting you drag yourself back to that disgusting pit you call your bed. My fault for wanting you to have fun. The fact that I'm not letting you roll back into your isolation is proof enough that I wasn't lying when I said that." The sarcasm rolled off his words, and I met his eyes wordlessly, trying to ignore the fact that he was right.

"Listen, you're gonna be fine, okay? Let yourself live a little, and worry about everything else later. The stress can wait. Besides, remember we're leaving to Montauk tomorrow. That means there's no absolute way, on this earth, that I'm going to allow you to stress, there's just no way." I let out a breath and rolled my eyes at him, nodding quietly.

"So you're gonna try not to stress?" He asked, as he lifted his baseball cap off his head and placed it on mine.

"Yes." I replied, feeling defeated.

"And you're gonna try to have a good time?" His hands slid down from the cap and ran through my hair, making their way near my face.

"Yes."

"And you're not mad at me for dragging you from the car?" He pulled me closer and my breath faltered.

"N-no." I stuttered, and silently cursed myself at my stupidity as I felt my cheeks grow red. A smile spread across his face and he finally cupped my face, so close I could feel his breath on me.

"Great." He replied, starting to close the remaining distance between us, but before he could finish the gap, someone cleared their throat loudly and we split apart.

I looked up and met the confused yet amused eyes of Reyna. If it was possible for me to turn anymore red, I achieved that at that very moment. She looked from me to Percy, and I watched, speechless, as a smirk slid its way on to her face.

"Hey Jackson, what brings you here?" Reyna asked nonchalantly, her voice thick with disguised pleasure.

"I was just dropping this one off, she needed a ride." He replied coolly, rubbing the back of his neck as he met her eyes.

"Mmm, right. Well, glad you got her here safely."

"Anytime, Arellano." He turned to me with a slight tint to his cheek, but held my gaze steady. "Remember what we talked about, no stressing, okay?" As soon as I nodded, I saw reassurance run through his face.

"Alright, great. Well, I'm headed out. Have fun you two." He said as he waved goodbye, and once I saw his car pull away, I turned back to Reyna's smiling figure and made my way into her house.

* * *

For a while, we just avoided talking about what she'd just witnessed. We sat in her spacious living room, watching re-runs of _The Office _in silence, aside from the occasional clearing of a throat or a yawn. It was when we'd pulled out a tub of ice cream, and I'd shoved a heavily loaded spoon in my mouth that the silence broke.

"You know, I never thought I'd see the day that Annabeth Chase actually stuttered." Reyna admitted as she dug her spoon into her bowl. As soon as the words left her mouth, I sputtered the ice cream I had in my mouth. I heard her small chuckle and it was all I could do not to drag myself out of her house.

"That wasn't what it looked like." I came up with hastily, knowing it was a weak defense. She quirked her eyebrow at me and bit back the smile I knew she was dying to let slip.

"Oh? So you're saying that wasn't Jackson trying to plant one on you?" I faltered and stared at my ice cream until it became a blurry green blob in my vision. There was no way out of this.

"Okay, so it was exactly what it looked like." I admitted, glancing at her quickly. She finally let loose the smile she'd been holding back and dug her spoon in her bowl again.

"You sure know how to pick 'em. How long's that been going on?"

"Well, for a while now actually. We've been trying to keep it under wraps though because of-"

"Your brother." I hesitated, and then slowly nodded.

"But not just that, it's also-"

"The feud, I know. That's so interesting though. You and Percy? I never would've seen you two together." I cracked a smile and tilted my head quietly, enjoying the fact that I could actually talk about my relationship with Percy with someone other than Percy himself.

"Really? Why not?" She shrugged and turned her body to face me while flipping her long braid over her shoulder.

"I don't know, I just thought you two would clash. Like, you guys are both kinda headstrong, and didn't you used to hate each other?"

"Yeah," I said with a small smile, fixing Percy's cap on my head. "But then we kind of stopped hating each other. I mean don't get me wrong, he's not perfect, and we do clash a lot, but he's actually really caring and sweet."

"Alright weirdo, stop getting all sappy with me." She leaned her head back against the couch, the forgotten TV show blaring in the background.

"What about you, huh? Any secret relationships I don't know about?"

"Nope." She said quickly, getting up and bringing her bowl to the sink in the kitchen. My attention automatically caught, I let my spoon fall into my bowl and followed her, leaning against the bar by the kitchen. She was definitely hiding something.

"Oh, come on. There has to be someone."

"Nope."

"There's no cute girl you're currently seeing?"

"Nope."

"Not even like a fling?"

"Did she tell you?" She suddenly blurted, putting her bowl down into the clean section of the sink and wiping her hands on her jeans. I resisted the urge to show any facial expression and let a smile slip on to my face. If I let it slip that I didn't know who 'she' was, I'd never figure it out.

"Of course." To my surprise, Reyna's face fell and she scoffed loudly, setting her hands on her hips.

"Wow, that's so interesting, I was sure Piper was so embarrassed of what happened she'd never tell anyone." She spat out, and my jaw dropped instantly. As soon as Reyna saw my reaction, her face blanched.

"Oh my god, you didn't know."

"_Piper?!_ You were dating Piper?!" I fell back into the stool at the bar, my balance leaving me at the news.

"No, no, it wasn't like that, it was just a one time thing!" She assured me, grabbing my shoulders with an urgency I'd never seen in her before.

"Wait what do you mean because I'm not understanding." I was trying to keep myself together. Sure, Piper and I hadn't discussed relationships in a while, but I was shocked she wouldn't tell me something as important as this. Then again, her not telling me was about the same thing I was doing with Percy. Reyna let out a breath and sat down in the stool next to me.

"Piper and I hooked up once, last semester." My jaw dropped again, but before I could get a word out, she shushed me and continued.

"She came over to do this Spanish project, and we started having some deep conversations, and then things just kind of happened. But then the next day, she went on and on about how she wasn't into girls and it was so obvious she regretted the whole thing. And we haven't talked since." I let myself register Reyna's words, and gave myself some time to recover before I responded as Reyna plumped herself on the couch once more.

"Piper's someone who's very… unsure of herself. Sometimes she can be really insecure even if she doesn't show it." I said finally, rolling up next to her on the couch. She looked up at me, her face still down and shook her head.

"I'm serious. She's probably really confused about the whole thing, she's never had an experience with a girl before." I paused before asking the next question, fiddling with my thumbs. "Do you like her?" Her silence was enough of an answer for me, and I nodded understandably.

"Well, I'm just letting you know, that she broke things off with Jason last semester. They're not together anymore."

"And what is that supposed to mean to me? If she's embarrassed of me there's no point in waiting around for her." She sounded completely defeated, but she still managed to roll her eyes in exasperation.

"I don't think she's embarrassed of you. I think she's embarrassed of herself. Piper's probably just really conflicted right now and she doesn't know what she's feeling. Give her some time."

"It's been months now." Reyna pointed out, that same look never leaving her face.

"I promise she'll come around. Do you want me to talk to her?" Reyna hesitated and looked up at me. Then, with fire in her eyes, she shook her head.

"No, if she does come around, I want it to be out of her own will, not because someone told her she should."

"Okay. That's valid." I nodded and then shifted on the couch, thinking back on everything she'd just told me. "I still can't wrap my head around the fact you and Piper slept together."

"Oh, please." She started, her entire composure changing. She looked ready to attack. "We can't all be abstinent saints like you and Percy." The flame that had finally made its way off my face came back in a hot second. Reyna's eyes narrowed, making it clear that my slip up hadn't gone unnoticed and I internally screamed.

"Oh, there's no way. There's no way." She sat up quickly, a look of enjoyment crossing her face.

"You guys totally did it, didn't you?" My mouth opened and closed like a fish, looking for a way out, but after I heard Reyna's hysteric laughter, I knew I'd been caught.

"We went on this trip to Florida for my cheer competition and then-"

"THAT'S HILARIOUS." Reyna shrieked. "Boy, you're wilder than I thought. Every time I would hear about you, people would talk about you like the only thing you did in your life was study."

"Well it was like that." I admitted, the flame slowly leaving my cheeks. "But then Percy came along and-"

"Percy sounds pretty great, I've got to admit. You've loosened up significantly since you got together. You used to stress about everything. I always thought you should've stopped giving a crap about what everyone else thinks a long time ago. But now you're actually starting to do it." She paused, her amused eyes turning back to me now narrowed again.

"Wait. Have you slept with other people?" The question froze me in my spot and I clamped my jaw shut. Suddenly, the unwanted memories of that dreadful night with Luke came up, like bile in the back off my throat.

"No." I said faintly, ignoring the part of my brain that was screaming at me, blaming myself for what happened, calling me a liar. I could feel the tears starting to well up in my eyes, but I pushed them down. Reyna, obviously not noticing the complete change in my persona, continued.

"Oh my god, you have! Who was it?"

"No one." The harder I tried to deny what had happened, the harder it became to conceal it. I could feel the horrible truth threatening to pop out of me, but I forced it down.

"Yeah, okay Annabeth. I don't think that's how hooking up works. How long ago was it?" I swallowed the lump in my throat, my vision becoming blurry with the tears I couldn't push down anymore. Suddenly, Reyna met my eyes, and her face fell.

"How long ago?" She asked, softer now. Even though it was the same question, the meaning was completely different. She was starting to piece it together.

"When we made the playoffs." Silence. It wasn't that long ago, she and I both knew.

"And," She continued, slowly, almost cautiously. I felt like a cup of fine china sitting on the very edge of a table. Anytime soon I'd fall and completely shatter. "Was it consensual?" I knew I wasn't supposed to be saying anything. I knew that telling someone wouldn't fix my situation. What had happened had happened, I couldn't change that. Telling someone could end up making it worse for them. But still, I couldn't stop myself when I uttered a small, quiet no. As soon as the word escaped my lips, I covered with my mouth with both hands, trying to capture the word and shove it back in my mouth.

"Oh god," The tears had finally burst from my eyes and they weren't stopping anytime soon. "No, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that I-"Reyna gripped my shoulders for the second time that day, but it was no use. I felt like I was spiraling away, back into the empty parking lot from that night. My breath was running short and Reyna became fuzzy in my vision as the tears persisted.

"Hey, hey, hey. Come on." She soothed, enveloping me in her arms and comforting me the way a mother would comfort a distressed child. Feeling safe, I let everything that I couldn't pour out on Reyna. There was shame, and guilt, and a present feeling of worthlessness. There was so much. I didn't even notice as Reyna got up and threw a blanket over my shoulders, seemingly covering me from harm. Everything was static. I vaguely heard the sound of water running, pots clanging, and the high pitched squeal of a tea kettle. Time passed before me, and before I knew it, Reyna set down a small cup of tea on the table in front of me. I glanced at it briefly and watched as steam rose from the cup and swept up in the air.

I grabbed the tea cup in shaky hands and let the warm liquid run down my throat, heating me up from the inside and reviving me once more. I sat there for a while and let my head clear while the scents of mint and lemon filled my senses, humming in the silence with gratitude at Reyna. She, like Percy, had learned my favorite drink.

"I'm sorry." I said quietly, after minutes of silence, and when my tea cup had become empty. Reyna glanced at the tea cup then stood up promptly, grabbing the tea kettle and sugar and placing it on the table next to my cup. I thanked her quietly and poured myself another cup of tea.

"Why are you sorry?"

"I shouldn't have said anything. I should've just kept quiet, now you're involved in my problems." I thought back to how I promised Percy tonight would be all fun and no stress. How ironic.

"No, Annabeth, please don't apologize." She hesitated, her eyes filled with deep concern. "Are you okay?"

"I don't know." It was an honest answer. I really didn't know if I was okay anymore. Sometimes I felt like it was a distant memory I could overcome. Other times, I felt like it was the only thing occupying my mind and everything was slowly collapsing around me.

"Am I the only person you've told? You haven't told the police, or your parents?" I nodded quietly and sipped on the tea, trying to keep my composure. I was still registering the fact that I'd told someone.

"I…I wasn't supposed to tell anyone. He threatened me, said if I told someone things would just get worse." I was gulping down the tea now, trying to drown out the sobs in the back of my throat with it.

"What about the police?" I shook my head and stared at the now empty tea cup.

"I can't tell the police. They wouldn't do anything because of Helen, and even if they could, I…I don't think I could handle them knowing what happened. I would just feel so ashamed."

"Does Percy know?" I shook my head harder as fresh tears escaped from my eyes. It seemed like these days, the only thing I could do was cry.

"I feel so guilty, like I cheated on him or I let him down. Like if I had fought harder I could've avoided it. I don't want him to get hurt, I don't want to put him in danger, and I don't know if I can tell him. I don't know if I can handle it I don't know if I can do it I just can't." I said, covering my face with my hands. I felt Reyna's arms wrap around me once more and let out a small breath.

"It's okay. You don't have to tell him. You don't have to tell anyone. And you shouldn't feel guilty or obligated to tell him. This is about you. And it's personal. And if you don't feel comfortable telling him, that's okay."

And then I sat there and let myself go in Reyna's arms, and at that moment, I thanked god I had someone like her in my life.

* * *

I tilted my head up towards the sky and relished the salty breeze, wrapping my hands tighter against Percy's neck.

"You know, how come you never carry me around?" Percy asked looking back at me over his shoulder. I was currently riding on Percy's back as we strolled down the beach, my bare back warming from the sun.

"Come on, you know you love carrying me." He rolled his eyes at me from under his baseball cap, but I caught the small smile he was trying to hide and relaxed against him. I was just so happy.

I blamed it on Montauk. Everything about it was perfect. As soon as we'd left to Montauk I felt a sense of release. It was like I was escaping from all my problems. The ride over had been filled with plentiful sunshine, bare feet on the car dash, laughing to tears, and overbearing, out of tune singing over the loud roar of Bon Jovi.

"So, how was Reyna's?" Percy asked, bringing me out of my daydream. I must've tensed as Percy brought up my night at Reyna's because Percy turned his head back to look at me with concerned eyes.

"Was it not good? Did you stress? I told you not to stress, Blondie." He set me down and laced his fingers through mine. Here on the beach, everything was so serene. Even the people around were walking by peacefully, chatting with the people around, or swimming in the ocean. I smiled easily at as we continued walking down the beach.

"It was fine." It was a lie, obviously, but I wasn't going to tell Percy that because then he'd just worry, and why should I ruin a perfectly fine trip by doing that? Of course, I had stressed more when I got there than before, but at least I was with Reyna, and safe. He raised an eyebrow at me and I stared at him for a second. His eyebrows were arched in concern, his green eyes deep and full of care, spots of yellow and blues making themselves present under the sunlight.

"Were you actually fine, or are you just telling me you're fine?" I let out a small laugh and leaned against him.

"I was actually fine, just like you." I answered nonchalantly. He stopped our walk and looked at me as I dug my feet in the sand.

"Did you just call me hot?" I shrugged casually and he scoffed.

"Alright, well now I know you're not fine because you're complimenting me instead of insulting me." I rolled my eyes at him and smacked his arm as he wrapped his arms around me from behind and planted a kiss on my cheek.

"Well really, it was fine. She knows about us now." I confirmed, and Percy glanced down at me.

"Oh, really, I wouldn't have guessed." He commented sarcastically. "What'd she say?"

"She said she would've never thought we were dating because of how we used to hate each other. And..." He glanced over at me and I scrunched my eyes closed.

"What?"

"I might've accidentally let it slip that we… you know." He smirked at me and crossed his arms over his shoulders, stopping us in our tracks.

"Oh, so you told her about how you came on to me, right? And about what an amazing kisser I am, and all that other stuff?"

"Oh, shut up."

At that moment, everything was fine. We were calm, laughing, and things were normal. And then I saw him. It wasn't Luke, but the guy walking by looked extremely similar to him. He had the same blonde hair and blue eyes, and the way he was raking his eyes up and down my body made me feel uneasy. Percy obviously noticed because his grip on me tightened and I tried to keep my demeanor. I was frozen.

"So where did you tell Malcolm you'd be for the weekend?" He asked, looking down at me and meeting my worried eyes. Before he could bother to ask if I was okay for the millionth time, I answered quickly.

"Reyna's. Hey, I'm a little chilly." I mentioned quickly, and without even asking, he peeled his football shirt off and handed it to me. As soon as I slipped it over my swimsuit, my nerves calmed slightly. Feeling covered made me feel at least a little more protected. I met his eyes and saw them full of concern and let out a breath. It seemed like that look was never going to come off his face.

"I'm okay." I stopped him and ran my fingers through his overgrown hair. "Perce, seriously. I'm okay." But even when he nodded the look stayed on his face. I let out a breath and closed my fist. There was no way I was going to let this trip get ruined because of me. Impulsively, I grabbed Percy's arm, and next thing I knew, I was pushing him into the water, watching him fall into the shallow waves. I crossed my arms over my chest and raised my eyebrows at him, shrugging in a challenge. I watched quietly as he raised his eyes to meet mine slowly. And then they narrowed.

"Oh, you're so dead." He stated, standing up, and I smiled wide, breaking into a sprint down the beach.

* * *

I leaned against Percy on the couch of the shack and glanced outside the window, watching the setting sun change the colors of the sky. We were currently watching some unknown movie that I wasn't paying attention to when Percy glanced over at me.

"Hey, we need to talk." I sat up and looked at him. His face was serious and my throat tightened. He knew. He totally knew. He'd found out about Luke and was confronting me about it. I closed my fists and opened them repeatedly trying to calm myself.

"I think we need to tell Malcolm about us." My fists unclenched. "I mean, we've been dating for a couple months now, and with Reyna now knowing I think it's bound to slip out eventually." I nodded quietly, my breath normalizing again.

"Um," I started, trying to find my voice. "I agree with what you're saying, and I get where you're coming from, but I think we should wait a little longer. I mean he's totally consumed with Thalia's pregnancy right now, if we told him he'd just get-"I stopped abruptly, my attention sweeping back to the movie on the screen.

The blood in my veins ran cold and I stilled. The current scene in the movie was currently depicting a young woman being cornered in an alley by four men. I could already tell where the scene was headed, but when one of them jumped at her, I snapped.

"Annabeth, oh my god, are you okay?" Percy's tone was urgent as he witnessed me breaking into tears.

"Turn it off, oh god. Turn it off, just turn it off." I covered my face, my chest heaving as I felt Percy's arms wrap around my shoulders, listening to the sound of the TV shutting off. I was ruining the trip, the very thing I was set out not to do. I could feel myself slipping through the cracks and tried to let myself breathing. Percy grabbed my hands from my face and stared at me.

"Alright, okay, look at me, just look at me." His hands went up to cup my face, but that just made me cry harder. I had no control of anything anymore.

"Breath, Blondie, just breath. I'm here, okay? I'm here." I closed my eyes and nodded, letting Percy's voice soothe me until I stopped shaking. But I knew then. This wasn't something that was going to go away. This was going to stay with me forever, and the way I was coping with it was horrendous. Reyna had told me I didn't have to tell anyone if I didn't want to. But deep inside me I felt a need for Percy to understand. I needed to tell him. So with a shaky breath, I looked up at him, eyes watery, lip trembling, and grabbed his hand.

"Percy," I started, closing my eyes, and wishing that I wouldn't have a reason to have a conversation like this. "I have to tell you something."

* * *

**AN: Drop me a review please! ****Till next time- ShyGal**


	20. Static

**AN: Okay, so just letting you know that this chapter doesn't start exactly where the last chapter stopped, it starts a little earlier than that. Okay that's all. Enjoy!**

**Percy**

"I'm okay." She paused, raising her arm to run her fingers through my hair. I took the liberty to examine the arm that was currently in my face and tried to calm myself as I caught a glimpse of the faded scars on the inside of it. I already knew they were there, but every time I saw them again, it was like a stab to my heart. I couldn't even begin to imagine what could cause her to feel so horrible she'd go the lengths of harming herself.

"Perce, seriously, I'm okay." It seemed like she was trying to convince herself more than me and that was concerning. There was a slight frown on her face and her eyebrows were pinched together in deep concentration. I tried not to let my face fall at her obvious lie.

Finally, I let out a breath and nodded even though I didn't believe a word that was coming out of her mouth. She was lying, I knew she was lying. But I wasn't mad, I was worried. Ever since she'd had the melt down on her birthday, I hadn't been able to concentrate on anything else other than her and whatever was going on. Seeing her completely broken down that day was probably the worst thing I'd experienced since I met her.

It wasn't even just that she was upset, but also the fact that I couldn't do anything about it. So I just had to sit there and watch her cry and try to comfort her about something that I didn't even understand. I just felt useless, like I wasn't even helping at all. I was really hoping that this trip would help, even if it only helped slightly, but it seemed that whatever was going on wasn't something she could easily push to the side.

Suddenly, I felt her small hands push me hard, and I landed in the salty water. I snapped out of my contemplation and looked up at her for a good minute. Her eyebrows were raised, arms crossed over her chest, eyes set in a challenge. It was clear she was trying to distract me. I knew she wasn't okay. It was blatantly obvious. But, I also knew this was her way of trying to reassure me. She genuinely was trying to make sure we had a good time on this trip. So, I stood up slowly, deciding to pretend I actually believed she was okay.

"Oh, you're so dead." I assured her, and my heart couldn't help but lift as I saw a real, honest to god smile spread across her face. I ran after her as she broke into a sprint, smiling at the way my football shirt moved on her back as she pumped her arms. We looked like a pair of kids in a game of tag, her running away, me chasing her. An easy smile slid on to my face as I watched her jump over heaps of sand, weaving down the beach and occasionally turning back to stick her tongue out at me. Lose tendrils of her curly blonde hair were escaping from her bun, but she kept moving forward.

"You know I'm gonna catch you, Blondie." I yelled after her over my panting. She was a little ways ahead of me and I willed myself to run faster.

"Over my dead body, asshole." She yelled back, picking up speed, but the distance between us was closing and I could see her getting tired, her energy draining. Finally closing the gap between us, I rammed into her, pushing her into the warm sand below and setting my hands on either side of her head. She looked up at me, her eyes narrowed, and let out a huff. Instantly a laugh escaped from my mouth.

"I'm a football player you dork what did you think was gonna happen?"

"I despise you." She spat, glaring at me with intensity incomparable to anything else. I shook my head at her and leaned in close, setting my forehead on hers. Even when she was angry she looked stunning. I let myself examine the spark in her eyes as she turned her nose up to me, lips pursed.

"Oh come on, you can't actually be mad at me, you started this."

"Yes I am." She assured. I rolled my eyes at her, internally smiling. She was finally starting to act more like herself. Excitedly, I leaned into her, ignoring the frustrated look on her face and pressing a kiss down on her forehead. She went slack underneath me and I smiled as I felt her hands wrap around my neck. She was gonna be okay. We were gonna be okay. Suddenly, a huge clump of sand smacked the side of my head and I broke away from her promptly, peering down at her as her hysteric laughter filled my ears.

"Alright, let's go, time to end this." I stood up quickly, lifting her up to carry her into the water. She just kept laughing, smacking my chest with her closed fists and I ignored the continued kicks I was receiving on my side.

"No, Perce, don't do it." She pleaded, her eyes now watering from how hard she was laughing, but I continued delving deeper into the water.

"Nope."

"Percy, please." The smacks on my chest continued and I looked down at her in my arms, shaking my head quickly. If she thought she was getting away with this she had another thing coming.

"Percy, I love you." I stopped and met her eyes with a smirk.

"Well, at least you tried." I said shrugging, and with a final look, dropped her deep into the water. And when she came back up, her hair matted against her forehead, and anger in her eyes, I got a feeling I hadn't felt in a long time. It was the feeling I felt every time she came over to my house and Mom made us cookies and we stayed up all night battling it out on whatever video game we felt like playing that day. It was the feeling I got every time we drove over to Starbucks and just sat there in each other's company, conversing for hours on end. It was the feeling I got when she laughed. It was normalcy. It was content.

* * *

When I was small, Dad, Mom, and I would take trips to the beach near Long Island all the time. I remember running out to the sea with a bucket and filling it to the top, carrying back to a spot not too far from the shore that the sand was hot but not too close that the water overlapped. Then, I'd spend forever building the perfect sand castle with my parents. I'd carve intricate designs into the blocks of sand, using sticks as bridges and flag poles, and stray bottle caps as statues in front of my estate. Dad used to call me the prince of the castle, Mom and Dad the king and queen.

Whenever we'd finish, we'd lie in the sand by the castle and guard it, making sure the threatening waves didn't destroy it. Mom would always tease me, asking me when I'd find myself a princess for the castle. Back then, I'd scrunch my face up and turn away, hating the thought of ever bringing a girl over to my pretend kingdom. Now, though, I couldn't help but stare as Annabeth's eyes flicked over mounds of our sand castle, calculating the exact places she could place the seashells we'd collected that'd been scattered all over the sand. I'd been sitting there for an hour now, watching Annabeth's delicate hands mold and shape the mushy sand, and she still refused to let it go until it was perfect. My eyes trailed over the complex shapes and swirls I'd carved into the wet sand with a stick. It reminded me so much of my early years that I couldn't help but smile as nostalgia coursed through my veins. I missed those times. Annabeth looked up from her work and turned to me.

"What do you think Perce?" She looked as excited as a little kid on Christmas.

"It looks great, Blondie, super proud of you." She rolled her eyes at me, picking up the mocking tone in my voice as she clapped her hands together to get the sand off.

"Does it say posh and sophisticated?" She asked, picking up one of the stray flowers on the ground and placing it near the base of the castle. I shook my head at her and laughed.

"No, it says sand castle."

"Just shut up and take a picture for Reyna, she told me to keep her updated." She demanded, shooting me a look as she tossed her phone over to me. I rolled my eyes at her, stifling my smile and watching her beam at the camera as I snapped the picture.

As soon as her phone was safely back with her, she threw herself back into the sand castle. I watched as her still damp hair fell into her face, her cheeks warming from the sun. Under the lighting of the beach, her eyes became as vivid as they could, the silver specks in the clouds of grey shining through.

"You're beautiful." I blurted impulsively, not regretting for one minute that I had. She looked up from her sand castle, raising her eyebrows in question.

Every time my family and I would go to the beach together, without fail, Dad would find the most exquisite flower you could find at a beach, and when the time was right, he'd present it to my mom by tucking it lightly behind her ear. Every time he'd do this, and every time my mother would react the same way; cheeks flushed, eyes bright, like she'd never heard anything more romantic in her life. Pensively, I grabbed one of the many flowers lying around the base of the castle and repeated the same motion with Annabeth, the way I'd always watch my Dad do to my Mom. Her reaction was immediate, and I couldn't help but smile at the way she looked down almost sheepishly.

"And you're cheesy." She responded, but even then she couldn't disguise the bloom of red on her cheeks, and the small, pleased smile she was pushing down. She got up then, suddenly, rushing up to a stranger and talking quietly before handing him her phone and then running back up to me.

"Is this picture for Reyna too?" She grabbed my arm, draping it over her shoulders loosely before wrapping her arms around my torso. She looked so at peace, I could stare at her forever and never get bored. She was a work of art. This is how I wanted to remember Annabeth forever. Bright eyes, big smile, and overwhelmingly happy.

"Mostly for me, but I'll send it to her anyway." And then I didn't even have to pose for the picture because I was already smiling so brightly at her. As soon as the picture was snapped, I ran up to the stranger and grabbed the phone for her. Absentmindedly, I pressed the send button on her phone and then tossed it back to her.

As we walked away, Annabeth's phone safely in her bag, and our hands intertwined, she met my eyes, a look of tranquility and cheerfulness running through her face. Without warning she stopped us in our tracks, snaking her arms around my neck and leaning her face close, until our noses touched. I took in a breath.

"Thank you, Percy."

"For what?" Because I was legitimately confused as to what I had done.

"For taking me here. And being here. Just everything. Seriously, it's a big help. I-" But I stopped her in her tracks, covering her mouth with mine and drowning out her words. The sand castle was long forgotten, the concern washing away from my very soul and leaving me just completely overjoyed. Every time I ran my hands through her hair it felt like silk was between my fingers, and every time our lips clashed it felt like my spirit lifting gradually. I smiled against her lips and wrapped my arms around her waist, picking her up from the ground and hearing her surprised intake of breath. I broke away and kissed her nose and her cheeks and her jaw and her temple until her beautifully wonderful fits of laughter drowned out every other sound around. And then she ran her hands through my hair for the nth time that day, and I leaned back and looked at her smiling figure.

"You don't need to thank me for anything. I would take you anywhere if it meant I could see you smile as much as you are right now, Blondie. I'm always gonna be here." And I genuinely meant that. She'd smiled so wide it seemed like I'd just given her the world when in fact all I'd done was tell her the truth. So when all was said and done, I'd carried her back to the shack and pretended it was our own little world, forgetting about all the present conflicts.

* * *

I ran my fingers thoughtlessly through Annabeth's hair, watching her face quietly. A movie blared in the background, but I was much more concerned with the movie playing right in front of me that consisted of Annabeth's facial expressions. One minute her face was scrunched up in thought, the next it was blank. She was staring intently through the window of our little shack, deep in thought. Every so often, after her deep thinking tired her, she'd set her head on my chest and slowly her eyes would flutter close. I watched as her face scrunched up again and I let my hand fall from her hair, getting ready to bring up a topic I knew neither of us wanted to talk about.

"Hey, we need to talk." Immediately she sat up, her attention quickly changing from the scenery outside to my words. Her face, which was empty of concern one moment suddenly twisted with worry. I felt her hands fidget on my chest and instantly panicked. She'd been set off again and I had no idea why. I waved it off and continued.

"I think we need to tell Malcolm about us." I explained my reasoning to her, noticing the way she eased slightly. The truth was, aside from the fact that we'd been dating for a while, I had the feeling if we didn't tell Malcolm soon, he'd find out all on his own. Reyna knew now, and there was no doubt in my mind that more people would find out eventually. Just today I thought I'd seen someone vaguely familiar and completely freaked out. If Malcom found out before we told him, everything would go to shit, he'd completely lose his mind. It was about time. Annabeth nodded and let out a breath before she spoke.

"Um, I agree with what you're saying, and I get where you're coming from, but I think we should wait a little longer. I mean he's totally consumed with Thalia's pregnancy right now, if we told he'd just get-" Suddenly she stopped, her head jerking back to the movie I'd completely forgotten about. Out of nowhere, Annabeth burst into tears, her hands immediately going up to cover her face.

"Turn it off, oh god. Turn it off, just turn it off." Her sobs were loud and throaty, and they were the only thing holding my attention. The only thing I could manage to ask her is if she was okay, over and over again, but there was no response. I instantly wrapped my arms around her, pulling her closer to me and running my hand through her hair in a soothing motion. I had no idea what was going on but my panic sensors were going off and all the serenity and peace we'd been feeling for the last couple hours completely evaporated into thin air. The only thing I could feel was worry and dread. She tried calming herself, but her breaths came out in ragged, short wisps.

"Alright, okay, look at me, just look at me." I let my hands fall from her shoulders and cupped her face, forcing her to make eye contact with me. They were so full of fear I could feel my heart splitting in two. If she didn't calm down soon she was going to have a full blown panic attack. My words, instead of calming her down, just made her crying intensify, and her breaths came out more heavy and short, nearing hyperventilation. She was completely losing it. Her eyes were now fully red, tears streaming from them constantly and without ever planning to stop. They snaked down her cheeks and hit my thumbs quietly.

"Breath, Blondie, just breath. I'm here, okay? I'm here." She closed her eyes quickly and nodded, trembling with fear. And we just sat there for a while, me holding her, her trying to get her breathing aligned again. When she finally managed to calm herself long enough to stop shaking, she looked up at me and her face looked just like the night of her birthday party when she'd broken down on the curb. Her eyes were all watery and she looked as fragile as glass. She grabbed my hand softly and before she could even talk, she shook her head and raised her free hand to cover her face again. A lump formed in my throat.

"Percy," She started, and I watched as her eyes shut quietly, almost as if she were trying to will herself to keep going. "I have to tell you something." At that moment my mind ran. What could she be telling me that was so bad she reacted like this? What was going on that was this horrible she couldn't even go a full day without it coming up? I gripped her hand back firmly, reassuring her. And then she started.

"Do you… um, do you… remember the night of the playoffs? When you went to that party?" She was visibly struggling to keep herself together and I could feel myself breaking into pieces watching her like this. I nodded quietly, rubbing circles on the back of her hand.

"And you know how I went home by m-myself?" Her voice cracked at the last word and her face twisted again, fresh tears pouring out.

"Hey, you're okay. You're okay. Take it slow." She shook her head at me, letting the tears overcome her.

"Percy, something happened. When I was going home, something happened." I froze, looking at her, really looking at her. Thoughts were running through my head that I didn't wanna be thinking and I shut my eyes quickly.

"What happened?" I asked, not sure at all I wanted to know the answer. At my question she just cried harder, and I kept my eyes closed, hoping what I was thinking was completely and utterly wrong.

"This guy found me and h-he threatened me, made me drive to his house," She paused, her crying stopping her from speaking. She covered her face with both hands and I sat there quietly, biting the inside of my cheeks. I couldn't say anything even if I wanted to. I was rendered speechless, already knowing where this was headed.

"And then he…he did things. To me." And then everything was silent. The only things you could hear were Annabeth's crying and short breaths. I felt myself standing up from the couch, pacing back and forth, running my hands through my hair, everything. I was doing it, but I wasn't feeling it. I was acting, but I wasn't conscious of it. I hadn't fully registered the gravity of the situation yet. It was just starting to sink in.

Suddenly, things that didn't make sense before fell into place. Like how she didn't call me when she got home that night, or her not picking up my extensive amount of calls, or how her breath smelled like alcohol the day after. I cursed myself, my pacing quickening. I felt like everything was happening at the same time but I couldn't keep up.

"Percy?" Her voice was thick but concerned, and I wanted to scream.

"Did you know him?" I looked over at her small figure, tears welling up in my eyes as she nodded. A thought occurred to me suddenly and I stopped in my tracks.

"Did I?" I watched horrified as she nodded again.

"Who was it?" She let out a breath, shaking her head at the ground. "Annabeth, who was it?"

"The guy from the coffee shop. Luke."

At that moment, everything became so real. It was like if I couldn't put a name to the person who did it, maybe it wouldn't be real. But now I knew, and it was, and I didn't know what to do with myself. My mind flashed back to that day when we'd skipped school and gone to New York. I remember finding that letter on my front porch and reading it, my blood running cold, everything around me completely freezing. The letter had told me to keep watch of Annabeth, and now here she was telling me that something had happened to her because I did the exact opposite of what that letter told me.

Before I knew it I was punching a hole in the wall, and Annabeth was gripping my shoulders trying to calm me down. I couldn't process anything. All I could see was red. I felt myself crumbling down to the ground, a wetness flowing from my eyes as Annabeth called my name repeatedly. I didn't answer.

"Percy, please calm down." She pleaded for what seemed like the millionth time. I finally looked up from where my face was buried into my knees and met her eyes.

"How can I calm down? You got hurt because of me. If I had just taken you home that night, if I just hadn't gone to that party you-"

"I what? I wouldn't have been taken advantage of? You have no way of knowing that, Percy, for all you know if you'd been there you could've been hurt too and everything would've just been worse."

"If I had gotten hurt that would've been a million times better than it being you, Annabeth. I should've been there for you, I should've tried to keep you safe." She grabbed my face with her hands and suddenly we were in the same position as just a couple minutes ago, but this time I was the one breaking down and she was the one trying to keep me together.

"You can't blame yourself for this Perce, you had no way of knowing."

"I was at a party while you were getting hurt. I was at a party. You got thrown in harm's way because I was at a _party._ I should've come and checked on you, made sure you got home okay." I paused, my hands balling up into fists. "I'm going to kill him, I swear to god, I will find him and I-"

"No," Annabeth shook her head at me, her eyes still red. "You're not going to do anything. He told me if I said anything to anyone, including you or Malcolm, things were just gonna get worse. And I don't think that was an empty threat. I don't want you to get involved."

"But he can't just get away with this that's not okay, that's not fair to you!" I was losing my mind. I felt like the world was collapsing around me and I was just sitting back and watching it happen.

"Percy, I know it's not. But even if I wasn't worried he wasn't going to hurt you, I wouldn't have said anything anyway. It's not like anyone would take me seriously with Helen. Trying to go to the cops about this is the same thing as going to Helen, and she wouldn't do anything." I opened my mouth to speak but she stopped me, running her thumb over my cheek.

"It happened. You throwing yourself at him isn't going to change that." My eyes shut close instantly as I let out a small breath. Once again, the feeling of uselessness settled into the pit of my stomach. I failed her. She was hurt and I couldn't do anything about it, and for the second time, I just had to sit there while she fell to pieces.

"Percy, it's okay."

"No, it's not, I know it's not, and I know you're not either. He did this to you, him just getting no consequences is far from okay." I said immediately. Annabeth's eyes fell to the floor promptly and I grabbed the hand that was settled on my face. My stomach twisted just thinking about him getting off free.

"You're right. It's not okay. But there's nothing we can do. I may not be okay right now, but I'll get there eventually." She hesitated, looking away, and when she turned back to me, her eyes were cloudy all over again. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" My voice was incredulous. What did she have to be sorry for?

"Not telling you sooner. I just didn't think I could do it. I felt so guilty about the whole thing, I didn't want you to look at me differently." I shook my head at her, disbelief running through my body. I couldn't even believe what I was hearing.

"Are you kidding me? You have_ nothing_ to apologize for. You didn't do anything. There's not a thing on this earth that could ever make me look at you any different, or change my opinion of you." I pulled her closer to me, trying to breath despite the way I felt like I was breaking from the inside out. "I'm sorry that this happened. And I'm sorry I wasn't there. But I promise you I will do everything to make sure you don't get hurt again. I told you earlier that I'd be there for you and I meant that."

And I did. Because if there was one thing I knew it was that I never wanted to see Annabeth as broken down as she was right now. Every time she cried I felt a hole expanding inside me. She looked up at me with awe in her red-rimmed eyes and it was all I could do to not completely break down all over again. She didn't deserve this.

"I love you." Her voice was thick, but completely sincere, and I gave her a sad smile.

"I love you too, Blondie. So, so much." And then I held her face in my hands, leaning in until the only thing I could feel was our lips against each other's. I could taste the salty tears that had fallen down all the way to her lips but I didn't even care because at least she was breathing, and at least she was safe, and at least she was with me. At least this time, I was here.

* * *

When something horrific happens, usually one can always find comfort in the fact that at least it can't get any worse. So naively, that's what I was doing. But I had no idea everything was about to fall to pieces again, so quickly after it'd just been put together again. It was like the world was hanging on by a string and someone was holding scissors near it, threatening to close them.

It was hours after I'd completely broken down and I was currently watching Annabeth sleep in between my arms in the small bedroom of the shack. Even after all the time that I'd come to know her, I never got tired of watching her sleep. Her chest heaved up and down and I could only imagine the pure exhaustion she felt after our extremely emotional afternoon. While Annabeth had been doing nothing but sleeping, I'd doing everything _except_ sleeping. I couldn't bring myself to close my eyes, scared that something would happen to her if I wasn't completely alert all the time. I pressed a kiss on the top of her head and watched as her eyes fluttered open, her hands instantly forming into fists to rub at her tired eyes.

"Hey." Her voice was scratchy and I sent her a small smile.

"Hey, Blondie. I thought you'd never wake up, you've been sleeping for hours." She smacked my chest, hopping from off the bed and stretching her joints like a cat.

"I'll be right back, I need to go to the bathroom." I nodded at her as she walked away and shook my head, wondering what the hell she was doing to me. Suddenly, the ringing of her phone snapped me out of my thoughts and I quickly grabbed it from the side table, not bothering to look at the caller ID

"Hello?" There was some movement from the other line and I heard the faint sound of a woman's voice in the background.

"Percy? Is that you?" The sound of Malcolm's voice hit my ears and my eyes closed shut, knowing this was about to be a complete train wreck. His anger rang through the phone and he didn't even wait for me to answer. "Can you tell me why the hell I received a picture of you and my sister at the beach looking extremely comfortable with each other?" My mind instantly flashed back to the picture on the beach and me sending it without even looking down. I wanted to throw myself off a cliff.

Annabeth emerged from the bathroom with a towel to her face and my football shirt still hanging loosely from her frame. She met my eyes and her eyebrows drew together in confusion.

"Who are you talking to on my phone?"

"Is that my sister?" Malcolm yelled from the other side, and Annabeth's face fell. She joined me on the bed and I pressed the speaker button.

"Malcolm?"

"Annabeth, I stopped by Reyna's earlier and you weren't there. Would you care to explain?" She ran her hands through her hair and looked at me in despair, but I had no idea what to do.

"I'm in Montauk." Her answer was short and I could just picture Malcolm's face right now, twisting in rage. I heard the woman's voice again and instantly knew it was Thalia trying to calm him down.

"Why the hell are you in Montauk with Percy?"

"We decided to go on a trip, Malcolm, it's not that big of a deal."

"Why would you lie about it then? Why would you tell me you were with Reyna?" Someone honked in the background, indicating that they were on the road.

"Because I knew you'd overreact like this!" It was a valid point, but we both knew that's not the reason she lied.

"And Percy why the hell wouldn't you tell me you two were going somewhere?" He asked, completely ignoring Annabeth's explanation. I covered my face with frustration and opened my mouth to talk but Annabeth beat me to it.

"Malcolm, we're dating, okay? Percy and I are dating." My jaw dropped and I shot her a look of complete shock. When I said we needed to tell Malcolm I didn't mean literally that _day_.

"Are you _kidding_ me?! Percy, that's my sister what the fuck is wrong with you! How could you do something like that?!" He paused, and I could literally see the gears turning in his head. "How long has this been going on?" I held my hand up to Annabeth, silently asking her to let me answer this one.

"When we went on the trip to Florida, things kind of-"

"Since Florida?!"

"Why does it even matter?" Annabeth asked, once again answering for me. "You have no right to talk anyway, you did the same thing with Thalia."

"This is different, Annabeth, you're my little sister!"

"I can make my own decisions I'm not five! Percy's a great guy, and he's been here for me when you haven't." Annabeth was visibly fuming, and I could do nothing but sit there and listen to this unfold.

"That's not fair and you know it, I have a kid on the way. And maybe if you made decisions that made any logical sense I wouldn't have to treat you like you're five, Annabeth! He's taking advantage of you!"

"I'm not taking advantage of her, Malcolm, I would never do something like that, you know that." I replied instantly. This conversation was losing more control every minute we kept talking.

"Yeah, well your credibility got thrown out the window as soon as you started dating my sister behind my back. You-"Malcolm stopped as Thalia's scream filled my ears, and the next thing I knew, we were listening to a combination of screeches followed by an all resounding crash. Then the line cut off.

* * *

**AN: Yikes don't hate me. Drop me a review, till next time! - ShyGal**


End file.
